OP  THE 

UNIVERSITY! 


JUDJ1A    CAPTA 


BY 


CHARLOTTE  ELIZABETH.  JU,  fir 


NEW    YORK: 
PUBLISHED    BY   M.    W.    DODD, 

BRICK  CHURCH  CHAPEL,  OPPOSITE  THE  CITY  HALL. 

1845. 


JUDJ1A    CAPTA, 


CHAPTER  I. 

"  AGAIN  will  I  build  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  built, 
O  virgin  of  Israel !"  saith  the  Lord.  Evermore 
bearing  in  mind  this  promise,  regarding  it  as  a  bea- 
con of  hope,  yea,  of  positive  certainty,  brightening 
the  dark  path  that  we  are  about  to  traverse,  we 
may  the  better  bear  to  fix  a  stedfast  gaze  on  the 
desolations  of  many  generations, — to  recall,  in  what 
has  been,  the  painful  prelude  to  what  now  is ;  and 
to  relate  how,  with  the  stroke  of  a  cruel  one  the 
holy  city  was  smitten,  her  spiritual  privileges  ex- 
tinguished, and  her  temporal  glories  buried  in  the 
dust. 

"  Beautiful  for  situation,"  that  which  constituted 
its  principal  beauty  w^as  also  its  main  strength.  Ju- 
dea  is  peculiarly  a  "  hill  country ;"  and  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  holy  city  these  mountainous  eleva- 
tions are  rendered  ii  conducive  to  its  defence  as  to 
have  furnished  King  David  with  an  illustration  of 
the  divine  guardianship:  "As  the  mountains  are 
round  about  Jerusalem,  so  the  LORD  is  round  about 
his  people."  What  the  size  and  aspect  of  the  city 
may  have  been  in  the  days  of  its  highest  splendour, 
1* 


4  JUD.EA   CAPTA. 

when  Solomon  swayed  the  sceptre  of  Israel,  not 
then  disunited  from  Judah,  or  even  what  it  may 
have  been  when  Zerubbabel  had  reared  the  second 
temple,  and  Nehemiah  rebuilt  the  walls,  it  is  not  our 
present  intention  to  inquire.  We  come  before  the 
city  of  the  great  king  in  darker  days,  intent  on  de- 
scribing it  as  seen  by  the  beleaguering  hosts  of 
Rome,  advancing  to  fix  the  abomination  of  desola- 
tion spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  in  the  holy 
place. 

At  this  time,  the  position  of  Jerusalem,  as  regards 
its  natural  strength  and  compact  beauty,  was,  and 
yet  was  not,  what  travellers  now  behold  it.  The 
everlasting  hills  do  indeed  maintain  their  ancient 
places,  but  the  deep  ravines,  naturally  almost  impas- 
sable by  ,a  hostile  force,  are  now  choked  up  by  the 
accumulated  ruin  and  neglect  of  many  centuries,  di- 
vesting the  site  of  its  otherwise  isolated  appearance, 
particularly  since  Zion  has  been  ploughed  like  a 
field ;  and  the  city  of  David  presents,  on  its  magni- 
ficent external  acclivity,  little  else  than  a  waste  of 
desolate  ground.  Our  ideas  concerning  the  place 
are  in  general  extremely  confused  and  errroneous : 
many  will  speak  and  write  of  Zion  and  Moriah,  the 
city  of  David  and  the  Temple,  as  though  they  had 
formed  an  undistinguished  mass,  and  were  converti- 
ble terms.  So  far  is  this  from  being  correct,  in  re- 
ference to  the  Jerusalem  of  the  Bible,  that  we  re- 
quire to  obtain  a  clear,  and  in  many  instances  a 
wholly  novel,  view  of  its  geographical  position,  be- 
fore we  can  comprehend  even  the  proceedings  of  the 
Roman  invader. 

We  will  first  speak  of  its  boundaries,  as  they  existed 
eighteen  hundred  years  ago.  Northward  of  the  city 


JERUSALEM  AS   IT   WAS.  5 

rose  an  undulating  ground,  termed  Scopus,  which 
stretched  away  also  to  the  westward,  rendering  the 
approach  in  that  direction  comparatively  easy ;  it 
was,  indeed,  the  only  accessible  point,  and  all  the 
enemies  who  have  attacked  Jerusalem  made  it  their 
highway.  Towards  the  south-west  the  ground  be- 
gan to  deepen  into  a  valley,  whence  rose  in  lofty 
grandeur  the  noble  hill  of  Zion.  This  was  called 
the  valley  of  Gihon,  and  soon  spread  into  another 
valley,  that  of  Hinnom,  running  due  west  and  east, 
between  the  southern  foot  of  Zion  and  an  elevation 
termed  the  hill  of  Evil-counsel,  from  a  tradition  that 
there  had  Solomon  been  misled  by  his  idolatrous 
wives  into  the  sin  that  polluted  the  latter  part  of  his 
reign.  The  valley  of  Hinnom  was  met  at  the  south- 
eastern extremity  of  the  city,  by  another  arid  a  far 
more  striking  pass,  the  valley  of  the  Kidron,  or  Je- 
hosophat;  this  running  along  the  whole  eastern 
course  of  the  city,  yielded  a  bed  to  the  brook  Kid- 
ron, and  separated  Mount  Moriah  from  the  Mount 
of  Olives.  The  side  of  the  former  was  exceedingly 
steep,  precipitous,  and  altogether  an  unapprochable 
defence.  No  adequate  conception  can  be  formed, 
from  its  present  appearance,  of  what  it  was  before 
the  fall  of  those  immense  ruins  that  have  converted 
its  decent  into  a  slope,  and  raised  its  original  level ; 
but  it  is  plain  that  its  whole  aspect  has  been  so 
changed.  The  Mount  of  Olives,  however,  remains 
unaltered,  a  sublime  and  enduring  relic,  of  interest 
BO  thrilling  that  its  very  name  awakens  emotions 
not  less  deep  in  the  bosom  of  the  Gentile  Christian 
than  in  that  of  the  Jew.  This  beautiful  mountain 
rises  like  a  broad  shield  over  against  where  the 
Temple  of  the  LORD  once  stood  ;  and  the  traveller 


6  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

who  takes  up  his  post  on  its  swelling  side  beholds 
the  holy  city  spread  out,  in  all  its  length  and  breadth, 
at  his  feet. 

Of  that  city  itself  we  have  now  to  speak,  and  of 
its  remarkable  divisions.  Supposing  ourselves 
placed  on  the  Mount  of  Olives  at  the  period  referred 
to,  its  aspect  would  have  been  that  of  three  very 
distinct  hills,  separated  one  from  the  other  by  nar- 
row but  deep  ravines ;  while,  towards  the  north, 
that  is,  to  the  right  of  the  spectator,  in  front,  ex- 
tended a  fourth  division,  reaching  far  over  the  com- 
paratively level  country  in  that  direction.  Fust  of 
the  holy  hills,  right  opposite  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
and  rising  so  as  to  terminate  in  a  broad,  square 
platform,  was  Moriah,  on  whose  summit  stood  the 
magnificent  Temple,  within  its  threefold  courts.  To 
the  south,  the  hill  descended  till  it  reacned  the  spot 
where  the  vallies  of  Hinnom  and  of  the  Kidron 
meet,  the  eastern  side  of  this  hill,  which  here  was 
called  Ophel,  running  along  the  whole  ridge  of  the 
latter,  the  western  terminating  in  a  deep,  abrupt 
declivity,  called  the  valley  of  the  Tyropean.  The 
sides  of  Moriah,  precipitous  on  the  east,  were  also 
steep  on  the  west  and  on  the  south  ;  and  at  the  angle 
of  these  two  points  a  lofty  bridge  was  requisite  to 
span  the  Tyropean,  and  so  to  form  a  communica- 
tion between  the  Temple  and  the  upper  city  on 
Mount  Zion. 

This  hill,  rising  from  the  valley  of  Hinmon  on  the 
south,  and  bounded  on  the  east  and  north  by  the 
Tyropean,  (which  thus  wound  its  way  through  the 
heart  of  Jerusalem,)  was  at  once  the  highest,  the 
strongest,  and  the  most  important  of  the  inhabited 
places  round  Moriah ;  its  outlines  were  so  perfectly 


THE    SACRED   HILLS.  7 

defined,  that  it  might  well  be  called  a  city  in  itself, 
apart  from  and  independent  of  all  the  rest.  The 
third  hill,  A  era,  was  the  site  of  the  ancient  Salem, 
which  David  took  from  the  Jebusites,  lying  due  west 
of  the  Temple,  and  north  of  Zion ;  its  irregular 
sides  sloping  towards  the  Tyropean,  and  ascending 
the  Mount  Moriah,  while  its  northern  and  western 
boundaries  were  formed  by  Bezetha,  the  most  recent 
addition  to  the  metropolis. 

Zion  is  frequently  used  to  designate  the  whole 
city,  as  being  the  principal,  the  most  conspicuous 
part.  While  the  site  of  the  Temple  was  but  a 
threshing-floor,  Zion  was  covered  with  magnificent 
buildings,  and  at  all  subsequent  periods  it  was  the 
residence  of  the  princes  and  chief  men.  Here 
David  fixed  his  kingly  seat,  and  here,  during  his 
reign,  and  for  some  years  after  Solomon's  accession, 
the  Ark  of  the  Lord  remained  within  a  tabernacle 
which  David  had  prepared  for  it.  That  Zion,  where 
corn  now  waves,  and  a  few  flocks  find  pasturage 
among  its  beautiful  but  desolate  slopes,  presented  to 
the  eye  one  vast  pile  of  architectural  grandeur  and 
military  strength.  At  the  time  whereof  we  write, 
such  was  its  character,  while  that  of  Acra,  venera- 
ble as  it  was,  and  famous  as  having  been  the  seat 
of  Melchizedek's  kingdom,  had  become  principally 
mercantile ;  its  numerous  intricate  and  narrow 
streets  being  densely  inhabited  by  tradesmen,  arti- 
zans,  and  all  those  who  ministered  to  the  luxurious 
dwellers  in  the  palaces  of  Zion.  Bezetha,  as  it  has 
been  observed,  was  a  modern  addition  to  the  city, 
having  been  walled  in  by  Agrippa,  but  by  no 
means  in  so  perfect  a  manner  as  he  had  planned  to 
do  it.  Here  the  population  was  less  crowded,  and 


8  JUDJEA    CAPTA. 

in  every  sense  it  formed  the  weakest  part  of  Jeru- 
salem. Moriah  was  altogether  occupied  by  the 
Temple,  with  its  extensive  courts  and  enclosures, 
excepting  Ophel,  that  slip  of  it  which  we  have  no- 
ticed as  running  southward,  parallel  with  Zion,  but 
separated  from  it  by  the  very  abrupt  ravine  of  the 
Tyropean,  the  remarkable  pass  which  completely 
isolated  the  stately  hill  of  Zion,  but  of  which  in  its 
original  character  as  a  deep,  winding  valley  in  the 
midst  of  a  populous  city,  we  can  form  but  a  very  im- 
perfect conception  now.  In  fact,  in  all  its  lower  por- 
tions, the  modern  Jerusalem  is  built  upon  the  mass 
of  what  was  rolled  down  from  its  heights  in  the  days 
of  oft-renewed  destruction ;  and  the  Tyropean  es- 
pecially became  the  natural  receptacle  of  these  fall- 
ing fragments.  Ophel  was  principally  assigned  to 
the  numerous  inferior  officers  and  servants  of  the 
Temple,  who  had  their  dwellings  thus  within  a  con- 
venient distance  of  the  Holy  House,  and  were  not 
separated  from  it  by  any  intervening  barrier. 

Thus,  though  imperfectly,  we  have  endeavoured 
to  sketch  with  some  accuracy  the  scene  of  events 
now  to  be  narrated.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to 
quit  this  branch  of  the  subject  without  remarking  to 
what  an  extent  the  privilege  granted  to  believers  of 
making  a  spiritual  application,  suited  to  individual 
cases,  or  to  that  of  the  church,  of  what  has  been 
aforetime  written  in  reference  to  Israel,  has  occa- 
sionally been  perverted,  even  to  a  total  oblivion  of 
the  literal  significancy  of  the  words,  and  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  those  to  whom  they  were  primarily  ad- 
dressed. 

Let  us  for  a  moment  pause  on  this.  The  second 
chapter  of  Isaiah's  prophecy  is  one  much  prized  by 


MISINTERPRETATIONS.  9 

the  Christian  believer.  It  commences  with  glorious 
promises  of  a  state  of  future  blessedness  on  earth. 
"  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  in  the  last  days,  that  the 
mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  established 
in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted 
above  the  hills,  and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto 
it."  This  is  frequently  taken  to  indicate  a  state  of 
extraordinary  fulness  and  prosperity  enjoyed  by  the 
Christian  church  at  large,  unconfined  to  any  locality, 
but  spreading  abroad  over  the  whole  earth.  By 
"the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house,"  the  great 
bulk  of  our  commentators  understand  that  kingdom 
described  by  Daniel,  which  "  becomes  a  great  moun- 
tain, and  fills  the  whole  earth,"  certainly  typifying 
the  universal  dominion  of  him  who  shall  be  King 
over  all  the  earth ;  but  to  this  particular  passage  in 
Isaiah  a  locality  is  assigned  :  the  prophet  describes 
it  as  "  The  word  that  Isaiah,  the  son  of  Amoz,  saw 
concerning  Judah  and  Jerusalem"  To  this  some 
answer,  that  in  prophetic  language  Judah  means  the 
believing  people  of  Christ,  and  Jerusalem  the  whole 
church,  as  a  church ;  an  organized  body  of  men, 
having  its  offices,  its  ministers,  and  so  forth.  But 
let  us  turn  to  the  prophecy  of  Micah  (third  chapter, 
last  five  verses.)  There,  the  peculiar  transgressions 
of  Israel,  for  which  a  visitation  was  pending,  are  de- 
scribed, ending  with  these  remarkable  words : 
"  Therefore  shall  ZION  for  your  sake  be  plowed  as 
a  field,  and  JERUSALEM  shall  become  heaps,  and  the 
MOUNTAIN  OF  THE  HOUSE  as  the  high  places  of  the 
forest." 

ZION,  the  city  of  David,  is  now  in  great  measure, 
as  we  have  seen,  a  ploughed  surface,  on  which  corn 
is  grown,  and  a  few  flocks  find  pasturage.  JERUSA- 


10  JUD.EA    CAPTA. 

LEM,  the  ancient  city  of  the  Jebusites,  that  Salem  of 
which  Melchizedek  was  king,  now  called  Acra,  once 
the  most  densely  populated  of  the  whole  area,  has 
been  made  heaps  of  ruined  buildings,  insomuch  that 
the  existing  town  at  this  day  stands  on  the  confused 
"  heaps  "  of  what  formerly  was.  The  rubbish  has 
in  some  places  well  nigh  filled  up  arid  levelled  what 
has  been  a  deep  valley ;  and  a  builder  seeking  a 
solid  foundation  must  work  through  complete  strata 
of  these  accumulations  to  a  depth  of  many  feet  be- 
fore he  can  reach  it.  THE  MOUNTAIN  OF  THE 
HOUSE,  Moriah,  where  the  Temple  of  the  Lord  stood, 
is  become  AS  the  high  places  of  the  forest.  Baal, 
and  the  other  idols  that  proved  so  often  a  snare  to 
Israel,  had  their  altars  always  on  high  places,  sur- 
rounded by  groves  of  trees,  which  God-fearing  kings 
from  time  to  time  cast  down,  plucked  up,  and  re- 
moved away ;  for  they  were  accursed  things,  abomi- 
nations, unlawful  to  Israel,  hateful  unto  God,  who 
forbade  the  approach  of  his  people  to  their  unhal- 
lowed confines. 

What  now  is  the  state  of  Mount  Moriah  ?  It  is 
crowned  by  a  mosque,  which,  being  the  temple  of  a 
most  false  religion,  is  as  a  high  place  of  the  forest  to 
the  Jew,  who  is  not  only  forbidden  by  his  law  to  set 
foot  within  the  boundary,  but  is  likewise  compulso- 
rily  excluded  by  the  Moslem  usurper  and  defiler  of 
that  holy  site.  It  is  not  a  high  place  of  the  forest, 
for  no  idol  is  there,  no  altar,  no  grove, — it  is  as  a 
high  place  of  the  forest,  for  it  is  an  abomination 
making  desolate,  and  that  which  no  Israelite  can  ap- 
proach. So  far  no  one  can  question  the  remarkably 
literal  fulfilment  of  a  most  literal  prediction;  and 
then — no  break  intervening  in  the  original  Hebrew — 


THE  MOUNTAIN  OF  THE  HOUSE.         11 

the  Word  proceeds  :  "  BUT  in  the  last  days  it  shall 
come  to  pass  that  THE  MOUNTAIN  OF  THE  HOUSE 
OF  THE  LORD  shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the 
mountains,  and  it  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills, 
and  people  shall  flow  unto  it.  And  many  nations 
shall  come,  and  say,  Come,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the 
house  of  the  God  of  Jacob ;  and  he  will  teach  us  of 
his  ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  his  paths  :  for  tbe  law 
shall  go  forth  of  ZION,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord 
from  JERUSALEM."  Here  we  have,  in  the  plainest  ex- 
hibition that  language  can  afford,  the  three  moun- 
tains,— Zion,  ploughed  as  a  field,  Acra,  reduced  to 
heaps,  and  Moriah,  polluted  by  a  false  religion,  re- 
built, restored,  re-sanctified,  and  become  once  more 
the  resort  of  voluntary  worshippers  from  every  quar- 
ter of  the  globe.  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  I  am  re- 
turned unto  ZION,  and  will  dwell  in  the  midst  of 
JERUSALEM  ;  and  Jerusalem  shall  be  called  a  city  of 
truth,  and  THE  MOUNTAIN  OF  THE  LORD  OF  HOSTS, 
the  holy  mountain.  .  .  .  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of 
Hosts  :  If  it  be  marvellous  in  the  eyes  of  the  remnant 
of  this  people  in  these  days,  should  it  also  be  mar- 
vellous in  mine  eyes?  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts :  Behold  I  will  save 
many  people  from  the  east  country,  and  from  the 
west  country,  and  I  will  bring  them,  and  they  shall 
dwell  in  the  midst  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  they  shall  be 
my  people,  and  I  will  be  their  God,  in  truth  and  in 
righteousness."* 

Let  it  not,  then,  be  imagined  that  with  the  feel- 
ings of  a  mere  antiquary  we  call  to  mind,  or  would 
bring  to  the  view  of  our  readers,  exact  localities, 

*  Zech.  viii.  3,  6,  7,  8. 

2 


12  JUDJ2A   CAPTA. 

their  names,  and  peculiar  features.  All  these  things 
not  only  have  been,  but  shall  be ;  Zion,  Acra,  Mo- 
riah,  shall  yet  stand  forth  upon  the  world's  map,  not 
only  in  their  indelible  outline,  but  in  all  the  rich 
beauty  of  such  finishing  and  such  tinting  as  the 
hand  of  God  alone  can  restore  to  them.  Zion,  Jeru 
salem,  and  the  Mountain  of  the  Lord's  house,  shal 
be  familiar  to  the  ears  and  lips  of  all  men  as  now 
they  are  to  the  thought  of  the  careful  student  of 
Scripture. 

We  have  now  to  notice  the  walls  of  the  ancient 
city,  in  connexion  with  the  imperfect  sketch  of  its  na- 
tural divisions.  Of  these  we  shall  have  occasion  here- 
after to  speak  more  particularly ;  and  need  merely  in 
this  place  observe  that  they  not  only  perfectly  sur- 
rounded the  whole  city,  embracing  Moriah,  Acra,  and 
Bezetha,  in  one  compact  line  of  bulwarks,  but  also  af- 
forded a  separate  defence  to  each  :  for  after  the  first 
and  most  ancient  of  them  had  completely  encircled 
Zion.  sending  out  an  additional  line  to  encompass 
Ophel  and  join  the  massive  walls  of  the  Temple,  a 
second,  thrown  out  in  a  simicircular  form,  defended 
Acra,  its  extreme  points  resting  on  the  first ;  and  a 
third  wall,  added  by  Agrippa,  took  in  the  suburban 
district  of  Bezetha,  from  the  northern  angle  of  the 
Temple  to  the  majestic  tower  of  Hippicus,  which 
stood  where  the  ancient  citadel  of  David  had  guarded 
his  Zion  at  the  north-western  extremity  of  its  sweep. 
Of  these  walls  the  strength  was  prodigious.  Built 
of  huge  stones,  the  fragments  of  which  cause  the 
men  of  our  times  to  stand  amazed ;  studded  with 
mighty  towers,  each  in  itself  a  fortress,  and  manned 
by  the  lion  tribe  of  Judah,  well  may  we  enter  into  the 


SUCH   WAS   JERUSALEM.  13 

feeling  that  laughed  to  scorn  the  besiegers'  menace, 
and  proudly  reiterated  the  song  for  the  sons  of 
Korah : 

"  Walk  about  Zion,  and  go  round  about  her, — 
Tell  ye  the  towers  thereof; 

Mark  ye  well  her  bulwarks,  consider  her  palaces, 
That  ye  may  tell  it  to  the  generation  following." 


14  JUD^A   CAPTA. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THERE  is  no  lack  of  historical  notices  of  what  be- 
fel  the  holy  land  and  its  people  in  the  day  of  their 
terrible  visitation ;  Josephus  is  within  the  reach  of 
most  readers,  while  Milman  and  others  have  fur- 
nished an  abstract  of  what  he  recorded.  Two 
things,  however,  are  noticeable ; — The  Jewish  his- 
torian evidently  wrote  not  only  under  Roman  pa- 
tronage, but  with  a  keen  eye  to  his  own  interest,  in 
producing  what  should  best  please  his  alien  masters ; 
and  though  a  gleam  of  nationality  may  here  and 
there  struggle  through  the  dense  cloud  of  worldly  feel- 
ings, principles,  and  pursuits,  it  is  presently  extin- 
guished by  the  prudential  or  the  egotistical  principle, 
and  we  are  compelled  to  feel  that  he  painted  his 
picture  under  the  lion's  paw, — obliged  to  exaggerate 
the  merits"  of  brute  force,  and  to  lower  as  much  as 
he  could  whatsoever  related  to  the  other  combatant. 
The  historical  accuracy  of  his  general  details  we 
may  admit,  the  more  readily  because  what  they  set 
forth  had  already  been  traced  in  the  prophetic  Word ; 
but  we  find  in  him  little  of  the  sympathy  that  might 
be  looked  for  in  treating  such  a  subject.  That  he 
was  a  Christian  we  cannot  for  a  moment  believe ; 
neither  his  language  nor  the  themes  he  most  delights 
to  dwell  on  accord  with  the  religion  that  breathes 
peace  on  earth,  good  will  towards  men.  How  far 


CHARACTER   OF   JOSEPHUS.  15 

towards  heathenism  he  may  have  carried  his  com- 
pliances to  propitiate  his  patron  Csesars,  we  cannot 
tell.  Moses  seems  to  have  retained  small  part  in 
him ;  and  of  that  spirit  which  shone  so  gloriously  in 
Moses,  that  ardent  devotedness  to  the  cause  of  his 
people  which  renders  his  character  so  exquisitely 
lovely  and  loveable,  Josephus  possessed  not  an 
atom. 

On  the  other  hand,  our  Christian  historians  have 
written  under  two  impressions,  alike  unfavourable 
and  erroneous.  The  one  was,  that  Jerusalem  had 
been  visited  with  final  destruction,  her  wrecks  being 
left  merely  as  monuments  of  divine  vengeance,  not 
as  providing  also  materials  to  re-construct,  in  sur- 
passing splendour,  what  was  once  cast  down.  The 
other  delusion  which,  whether  consciously  or  not, 
rested,  and  still,  to  a  great  extent,  rests,  on  the  minds 
of  such  historiographers,  is  that  the  Jews,  as  a  na- 
tion, are  cast  off,  at  least  so  far  as  to  render  any  fu- 
ture restoration  contingent  on  their  embracing  the 
faith  of  the  gospel,  one  indispensable  concomitant 
of  which  is  held  to  be  their  abandoning  all  distinc- 
tive marks,  and  becoming,  in  fact,  less  individualized 
as  a  people  than  are  the  members  of  any  national 
church,  or  any  congregation  of  consistent  dissenters. 
These  prejudices  interpose  a  formidable  barrier  be- 
tween the  historian  and  his  subject,  occasioning  him 
not  only  to  confuse  objects,  but  so  to  distribute  his 
lights  and  shades  as  to  blend  the  whole  picture  into 
one  mass  of  needless  perplexities.  He  dare  not 
quote  scripture  in  continuous  portions  to  any  extent : 
it  is  so  formidably  literal  on  these  points  as  to  scat- 
ter to  the  winds  what  men  have  laboriously  essayed 
to  build  upon  it ;  and  however  excellent,  however 
2* 


16  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

conscientious,  however  able  a  writer  may  be,  we 
very  rarely  indeed  fall  in  with  one  of  any  note  who 
has  had  courage  to  take  his  pen  under  a  deep  practical 
conviction,  that  in  approaching  these  subjects  he 
must  fully  act  up  to  the  bold  declaration  of  the  apos- 
tle :  "  Yea,  let  God  be  true,  and  every  man  a  liar." 
Human  authority  is,  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  an 
imposing  thing :  one  man  in  former  times  has  darkly 
trodden  a  doubtful  path,  while  as  yet  the  heaviest 
gloom  of  obscurity  rested  upon  it.  Others  follow  in 
single  file,  blessed  by  a  much  clearer  light  indeed, 
but  for  the  most  part  apparently  solicitous  to  use  it, 
each  for  the  purpose  of  accurately  planting  his  foot 
in  the  print  of  his  predecessor's  shoe.  The  beaten 
path  is  good,  so  far  as  scripture  sanctions  it ;  but 
when  a  discrepancy  appears,  it  is  safer  to  follow  the 
guidance  of  revelation,  leaving  every  other  track 
until  the  same  guidance  brings  us  into  it  again. 

Nothing  has  happened,  either  to  the  holy  city  or 
to  the  people  who  so  long  possessed  it,  as  a  gift  from 
the  Lord,  but  what  was  plainly  foretold  in  the  Bible. 
With  astonishing  minuteness  all  that  has  occurred, 
all  that  will  yet  take  place,  has  been  set  forth  by  holy 
men  of  old,  speaking  as  they  were  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  The  blessings  with  which  the  Lord 
would  crown  a  course  of  obedience  were  described  in 
glowing  language ;  and  with  terrible  fidelity  were 
the  curses  that  should  ensue  upon  a  rebellious  de- 
parture from  the  holy  law  enumerated.  Not  only  as 
a  menace,  but  as  a  prediction,  were  those  visitations 
described ;  for  to  Him  who  seeth  the  end  from  the 
beginning,  all  was  naked  and  manifest  that  should 
come  to  pass.  In  reading  the  awful  denunciations 
contained  in  the  twenty-eight  chapter  of  Deuteron- 


ACCURATE    PREDICTIONS.  17 

omy,  from  the  fifteenth  verse  to  the  end,  we  are  con- 
strained to  feel  that  it  never  was  or  could  be  a  con- 
tingency hypothetically  set  forth  :  it  is  a  terrible  re- 
ality present  to  the  mind  of  inspiration,  not  as  what 
perhaps  might,  but  as  what  assuredly  would  come 
to  pass ;  increasing  in  the  weight  of  its  inflictions 
proportionably  with  the  foreseen  aggravation  of  Is- 
rael's progressive  sins.  A  blessing  would  first  be 
enjoyed,  while  the  people  walked  with  God,  submit- 
ting to  his  divine  ordinances  and  continuing  in  the 
way  of  his  commandments.  Then  would  come  a 
declension,  a  determined  falling  away,  that  must 
gradually  lead  them  into  the  settled  habit  of  walk- 
ing contrary  to. God,  until  the  whole  world  should 
resound  with  the  exceeding  terribleness  of  his  ven- 
geance upon  the  holy  people ;  their  punishment 
being*  exactly  proportioned  to  the  privileges  enjoyed 
and  abused  by  them,  as  says  the  Lord  by  Amos, 
"  You  only  have  I  known  of  all  the  families  of  the 
earth :  therefore  I  will  punish  you  for  all  your  ini- 
quities." 

After  this,  we  find  in  the  thirtieth  chapter  a  pro- 
phetic description  of  their  final  repentance  and  re- 
turn to  God,  followed  again  by  the  multiplication  of 
blessings  so  rich,  so  varied,  so  far  beyond  the  stretch 
of  man's  narrow  mind  to  embrace  in  their  fullness, 
that  some  who  never  think  of  explaining  away  the 
preceding  threats,  are  tempted  to  dishonour  God  by 
calling  in  question  the  literal  applicability  of  those 
rich  promises  to  the  race  concerning  whom  they 
were  spoken,  and  to  surmise  that  they  treat  figura- 
tively of  things  altogether  apart  from  earth  ;  saying, 
as  did  Ezekiel's  unbelieving  hearers,  "  Doth  he  not 
speak  parables  ?" 


18  JUD.EA    CAPTA. 

Of  events  that  occurred  in  preceding  years,  we  do 
not  intend  to  say  much :  our  starting  point  is  the 
final  invasion  of  Judsea  by  the  Roman  army  under 
Vespasian  and  his  son  Titus.  The  immediate  cause 
of  their  expedition  was  the  slaughter  of  the  troops 
that  garrisoned  Jerusalem :  an  act  into  which  the 
Jews  were  goaded  by  the  really  unprovoked  wrongs 
and  cruelties  inflicted  on  them  by  the  savage  Roman 
procurator,  Gessius  Florus.  This  man,  whose  cha- 
racter stands  out  in  bold  relief  on  the  page  of  his- 
tory, as  a  dire  specimen  of  what  Satan  can  effect  in 
assimilating  the  human  mind  to  his  own  diabolical 
model,  had  pursued  an  undeviating  course  of  treach- 
ery, cruelty,  and  murder,  against  the  people  com- 
mitted to  his  charge.  For  a  long  time  they  acted  on 
a  system  as  peaceably  defensive  as  could  be  de- 
vised ;  and,  to  the  number  of  three  millions,  humbly 
petitioned  the  president  of  Syria  to  protect  them 
irom  his  cruelties,  but  in  vain.  The  first  outbreak 
occurred  in  Csesarea,  the  government  of  which  was 
suddenly  transfeTreTt  to  alien  inhabitants,  who  were 
raised  above  the  Jews ;  and  the  latter  soon  found 
their  way  of  access  to  the  synagogue  wantonly  and 
maliciously  obstructed  by  the  building  of  a  Greek 
idolator,  against  whom  they  respectfully  appealed  to 
Florus,  and  tendered  a  handsome  gift  which  was  ac- 
cepted as  the  price  of  his  official  interference.  When 
he,  apparently  by  design,  left  the  place  without  tak- 
ing any  means  to  stay  the  interruption,  and  the 
Greeks,  emboldened  by  his  evident  connivance,  at 
once  profaned  the  sabbath  and  polluted  the  syna- 
gogue, by  killing  birds  at  the  door,  in  sacrifice  to  their 
demons :  the  Jews,  after  a  skirmish  with  the  multi- 
tudes who  strove  to  force  them  into  submission  to 


CRUELTIES    OF    GESSIUS    FLORUS.  19 

this  abomination,  removed  their  holy  books  from  the 
place,  and  renewed  their  appeal  to  the  Roman  ty- 
rant. He,  instead  of  redressing  the  wrong,  cast  the 
petitioners  into  prison ;  and  in  the  hope  of  exciting 
a  rebellious  movement  among  their  brethren  in  Je- 
rusalem, sent  a  demand  for  money  from  the  treasury 
of  the  Temple,  for  the  service,  as  he  said,  of  the  em- 
peror Nero.  This  produced  the  exasperation  on 
which  he  had  calculated ;  in  a  tumultuous  meeting 
of  the  Jews,  some  well-merited  epithets  were  be- 
stowed on  Floras,  who,  immediately,  on  hearing  of 
it,  marched  upon  Jerusalem,  and  returned  the  loyal 
and  respectful  greeting  of  its  inhabitants,  whose 
temporary  irritation  had  passed  away,  by  giving 
over  a  considerable  part  of  the  city  to  be  sacked  by 
the  Roman  soldiers.  Notwithstanding  this  barba- 
rous outrage,  the  inhabitants  still  declared  them- 
selves ready  to  submit  to  his  authority,  as  the  em- 
peror's representative ;  but  the  infuriated  tyrant 
caused  between  three  and  four  thousand  of  the  Jews 
to  be  scourged  and  crucified,  including  not  only 
many  of  the  noblest  and  best  among  them,  but  also 
several  who  held  the  rank  of  Roman  citizens. 

Immediately  after  this  wanton  massacre,  on  the 
very  nejrt_day,  while  the  chief  priests  and  leading 
men,  with  dust  on  their  heads  and  sackcloth  on  their 
limbs,  were  quelling  by  their  entreaties  the  agitation 
of  the  survivors,  the  wretched  procurator  laid  ano- 
ther crafty  snare  for  them.  He  had  sent  for  two 
cohorts  from  Csesarea,  which  was  certainly  the  most 
irritating  locality  so  far  as  the  feelings  of  the  Jews 
were  concerned,  ordering  them  to  advance  on  Jeru- 
salem :  and  then  commanded  the  people  to  go  out 
and  meet  them  with  a  joyous  shout  of  j^fiicome.  It 


20  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

required  the  utmost  stretch  of  the  influence  pos- 
sessed by  their  priests  and  nobles  to  bring  them  to 
this  cruel  test ;  and  while  they  were  persuading  the 
Jews  to  obey,  Florus  despatched  an  order  to  the  co- 
horts to  respond  to  their  greeting  with  insult ;  then, 
on  the  least  appearance  of  resentment  or  dissatisfac- 
tion on  the  Jews'  part,  to  put  them  to  the  sword. 
This,  of  course,  was  done  ;  and  the  next  act  of  their 
blood-thirsty  oppressor  brought  matters  to  a  crisis. 
Strengthened  by  the  accession  of  these  troops,  he 
attempted  to  take  possession  with  them  of  the  Tem- 
plej  and  the  city  at  once  rose  in  arms.  The  Romans 
were  met,  fought  with,  and  driven  back  to  their 
strong-hold,  Antonia ;  the  covered  way  from  which 
to  the  Temple  was  immediately  pulled  down  by  the 
Jews,  who  stood,  to  a  man,  ready  to  perish  in  de- 
fence of  the  holy  house. 

At  this  alarming  juncture,  Florus  appealed  to  the 
Roman  chief,  Cestius  Gallus,  at  Csesarea ;  and  but 
for  the  interposition  of~Q,ueen  Bernice,  he  would 
probably  have  succeeded  in  bringing  on  the  imme- 
diate destruction  of  the  city  and  people.  Through  her 
means  Cestius  was  apprised  of  the  true  particulars ; 
and  king  Agrippa,  soon  afterwards  arriving  at  Jeru- 
salem, successfully  mediated  between  the  contending 
parties.  His  address  to  the  Jews  is  a  most  splendid 
piece,  not  so  much  of  oratory  as  of  argument,  and 
produced  a  happy  effect.  They  promised  to  return 
to  obedience,  paid  up  wnat  remained  due  in  the 
shape  of  exacted  tribute,  and  even  rebuilt  the  com- 
munication between  Fort  Antonia  and  the  Temple. 
But  Agrippa  went  further  than  the  more  fiery  spirits 
among  them  could  brook  :  he  pleaded  for  an  unlim- 
ited submission  to  the  profane  tyrant  Florus ;  and 


MEDIATION    OP   AGRIPPA.  21 

for  this  he  was  assaulted,  and,  in  fact,  expelled  from 
the  city.  Naturally  offended  at  so  unreasonable  a 
return  for  his  good  offices,  the  king  abandoned  the 
Jews  to  their  fate,  and  thenceforth  all  was  discord 
and  desolation  to  the  end.  The  Jews  took  by  stra- 
tagem the  strong-hold  of  Masada,  slew  the  Roman 
garrison  :  and  following  the  wrong  counsel  of  Elea- 
zar,  aTrash  young  man,  son  of  the  high-priest  and 
governor  of  the  Temple,  they  passed  a  resolution 
that  alarmed  all  the  sober-minded  among  them  It 
had  long  been  the  custom  to  accept  gifts  from  Gen- 
tiles of  rank,  on  whose  behalf  they  offered  sacrifices 
in  the  Temple.  Eleazar  persuaded  them  to  abolish 
this  custom,  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  their 
principal  men,  who  reminded  them  that  the  Lord's 
house  was,  to  a  great  degree,  enriched  and  adorned 
by  such  gifts  from  foreign  princes,  which  their  fore- 
fathers never  refused,  nor  denied  the  intercessory 
service  for  any  who  so  asked  it.  Indeed  the  records 
of  Solomon,  at  the  dedication  of  the  first  Temple, 
plainly  imply  as  much.  "  Moreover,  concerning  the 
stranger  which  is  not  of  thy  people  Israel,  but  is 
come  from  a  far  country  for  thy  great  name's  sake, 
and  thy  mighty  hand  and  thy  stretched  out  arm  ;  if 
they  come  and  pray  in  this  house,  then  hear  thou 
from  the  heavens,  even  from  thy  dwelling-place,  and 
do  according  to  all  that  the  stranger  calleth  to  thee 
for;  that  all  people  of  the  earth  may  know  thy 
name,  and  fear  thee,  as  doth  thy  people  Israel,  and 
may  know  that  this  house  which  I  have  built  is  cal- 
led by  thy  name."* 

The  most  learned  of  their  priests,  men  skilled  in 
antiquarian  research,  came   forward  to   attest  the 

*  2  Chron.  vi.  32,  33. 


22  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

truth  of  these  assertions,  but  in  vain  ;  no  man  would 
hearken  to  them  :  and  the  unpardonable  affront  was 
put  upon  the  Roman  emperor  of  refusing  any  longer 
to  do  sacrifice  for  him. 

War  was  now  inevitable  ;  the  leaders  saw  it,  and 
dreading  the  consequences,  sent  two  embassies,  one 
to  Florus,  the  other  to  Agrippa,  both  of  whom  they 
invited  to  advance,  and  intimidate  the  turbulent 
party  ere  the  aggressive  movement  should  embrace 
the  whole  population.  Florus,  well  pleased  at  the 
success  of  his  satanic  wiles,  took  no  notice,  hoping 
to  see  such  a  catastrophe  as  the  pleaders  apprehen- 
ded ;  but  Agrippa,  in  whose  character  at  that  period 
shone  many  noble  traits,  confirmatory  of  the  favour- 
able impression  that  we  gather  from  his  interview 
with  Paul,  that  he  "believed  the  prophets,"  and 
therefore  truly  loved  the  Jewish  people^  immediately 
despatched  three  thousand  horsemen  to  the  help  of 
those  who  were  labouring  to  preserve  the  country. 
Thus  reinforced,  the  chief  men  seized  on  Zion,  the 
upper  city ;  whence  they  also  endeavoured  to  gain 
Moriah  and  the  Temple.  Eleazar,  in  possession  of 
the  latter,  not  only  defended  it,  but  daily  attempted 
to  retake  Zion ;  and  for  a  whole  week  the  conflict 
never  flagged,  neither  party  prevailing.  But  at  the 
end  of  the  week,  hostilities,  hitherto  confined  to  the 
flinging  of  stones  and  darts,  assumed  a  more  fearful 
aspect ;  fire  was  introduced,  and  palaces  burned  to 
the  ground,  including,  in  their  destructive  progress, 
the  most  valued  archives,  the  ancient  records,  and, 
as  Josephus  says,  the  nerves  of  the  city.  The  war- 
like party,  misled  by  Eleazar,  thus  obtained  advan- 
tages fatal  to  themselves ;  they  assaulted  Fort  An-- 
tonia,  slew  the  garrison,  and  greatly  damaged  the 


DREADFUL    SLAUGHTERS.  23 

citadel  with  fire ;  then  beseiged  the  royal  pal- 
ace, where  Agrippa's  troops  had  fortified  them- 
selves, with  some  of  the  Roman  soldiers  and 
many  of  the  chief  men,  and  endeavoured  to  batter 
it  down.  After  a  while,  the  besieged  capitulated ; 
the  Jews  with  their  allies,  were  permitted  to  escape, 
but  the  Romans  were  hunted  and  slain  without 
mercy,  as  also  was  the  liigh  priest  himself.  The 
principal  perpetrator  of  these  deeds  was  not  Elea- 
zar,  but  Manahem,  an  ambitious  Galilean,  who  on 
these  successes  aspired  to  kingly  state  ;  and,  under 
pretext  of  worshipping,  endeavoured  to  seize  on  the 
Temple.  He  was  resisted  by  Eleazar,  his  adherents 
routed,  and  himself  slain.  Finally,  the  Roman 
general,  Metilius,  who  with  a  handful  of  soldiers 
still  held  a  position,  offered  to  surrender,  on  condition 
of  being  allowed  to  leave  the  city,  unarmed,  with  his 
men.  The  turbulent  party  among  the  Jews,  now 
triumphant  over  all  opposers,  consented ;  and  when 
the  soldiers  were  disarmed,  they,  according  to  the 
history,  slew  every  man  of  them,  saving  Metilius 
himself;  who  was  spared  in  consideration  of  his 
offer  to  become  a  proselyte. 

While  this  took  place  in  Jerusalem,  on  the  very; 
same  day,  the  Greeks  and  other  aliens  in  Ccesarea 
rose  against  the  Jews  there,  and,  encouraged  by 
Floras",  massacred  in  one  hour  above  twenty  thou- 
sand helpless  victims.  Slaughter,  to  the  uttermost 
of  their  power,  on  both  sides,  wherever  the  hostile 
nations  met,  became  from  this  time  the  order  of  the 
day.  The  Jj^s  jand  Syrians  maintained  against 
each  other  a  war  of  extermination  ;  the  former  being 
also  internally  divided,  and  the  flame  spread  far  and 
wide.  At  Alexandria,  by  the  Romans,  no  fewer  than 
«_> 


24  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

fifty  thousand  Jews  were  put  to  death  without  re- 
gard to  age  or  sex ;  and  in  every  place  the  nation, 
whether  many  or  few,  was  found  in  arms  to  avenge 
these  acts  of  butchery. 

At  length  Cestius  Gallus  put  his  army  in  motion, 
and  accompanied  by  Agrippa  himself,  advanced 
through  the  land  at  the  head  of  a  mighty  force,  de- 
termined to  take  Jerusalem  and  end  the  war.  He 
took  Zabulon,  a  strong  city  of  Galilee,  with  other 
places,  among  which  was  Joppa ;  and  having  sub- 
dued the  Jews  in  those  parts,  passed  unresisted 
through  Antipatris  and  Lydda ;  not  indeed  from  any 
slackening  of  the  people's  zeal  against  their  inva- 
ders, but  because  all  their  males  were  assembled  in 
the  holy  city,  keeping  the  feast  of  Tabernacles ; 
and  finally  he  pitched  his  camp  within  fifty  furlongs 
of  Jerusalem.  Here  a  fierce  sally  from  the  gates 
endangered  the  whole  Roman  army ;  and  though 
ultimately  repulsed,  the  Jews  gave  the  besiegers  no 
rest:  breaking  out  upon  them,  dashing  into  their 
camp,  carrying  off  their  cattle,  and  other  spoil; 
and  when  Agrippa  tried  his  ancient  influence  as  a 
mediator,  they  slew  one  of  his  ambassadors,  and 
drove  the  other  back,  who  scarcely  saved  himself  by 
flight.  This  was  the  act  of  the  turbulent  party ;  to 
others  it  occasioned  bitter  grief,  and  led  to  a  division, 
in  the  midst  of  which  Cestius  took  advantage  to  ap- 
proach as  near  as  the  hill  Scopus,  where  he  again 
encamped,  only  seven  furlongs  from  the  city. 
Thence  he  presently  advanced,  and  took  Bezetha, 
and  had  he  followed  up  his  manifest  advantage,  he 
might  have  put  an  immediate  end  to  the  war.  In- 
stead of  this,  he  suddenly,  and  without  any  apparent 
cause,  raised  the  seigej  withdrawing  his  whole  army, 


BATTLES   IN   THE    MOUNTAINS.  25 

to  whom  a  great  part  of  the  inhabitants  were  al- 
ready prepared  to  open  the  gates,  and  retreating  to 
Scopus.  The  Jews  pursued  him,  falling  on  the 
rear,  and  also  on  the  flank,  of  the  Romans,  who,  dis- 
pirited by  this  strange  movement  of  their  general, 
were  soon  thrown  into  confusion.  The  retreat  be- 
came a  rout, — the  narrow  passes  and  defiles  through 
which  they  were  obliged  to  march  were  overhung 
by  the  exulting  Hebrews,  who  cast  down  upon  them 
darts  and  missiles  of  every  description  ;  and  not  only 
so,  but  in  many  instances  the  Jews,  well  acquainted 
with  their  country,  pressed  forward,  took  possession 
of  these  passes,  and  blocked  them  up  mid-way, 
while  another  division  from  behind  forced  the  enemy 
onward  down  the  steep  declivities,  and  in  the  lowest 
depth  of  those  vallies  fell  upon  them,  as  did  their  fa- 
thers of  old  upon  the  idolatrous  nations  of  Canaan, 
making  such  fearful  havoc  that  the  mountain  echos 
of  Judea  rang  to  an  unwonted  sound — the  cries,  and 
wailings,  and  bitter  lamentations  of  the  iron-clad 
legions  of  Rome.  These  were  again  responded  to 
by  shouts  of  mingled  joy  and  rage  on  the  part  of 
the  Jews.  It  was  a  parenthesis  in  the  long  dark 
tale  of  their  calamitous  defeats ;  it  was  as  though 
once  more  it  might  be  said  of  Israel,  "  The  Lord  his 
God  is  with  him,  and  the  shout  of  a  King  is  amongst 
them."  So  complete  was  the  rout,  that  Cestius  only 
contrived  by  stratagem  the  rescue  of  his  remaining 
forces,  leaving  as  a  prey  to  the  victorious  Jews  those 
formidable  engines  that  were  designed  to  batter 
down  the  walls  of  the  holy  city ;  together  with  an 
immense  booty,  and  not  less  than  five  thousand  six  * 
hundred  and  eighty  Roman  warriors  dead  on  the 
field.  The  Jews,  finding  it  fruitless  to  pursue 


26  JUD2EA    CAPTA. 

farther  than  Antipatris,  returned  to  Jerusalem,  hav- 
ing suffered  scarcely  any  perceptible  loss. 

When  forewarning  his  disciples  of  what  should 
come  to  pass,  our  Lord  used  these  words :  "  And 
when  ye  shall  see  Jerusalem  compassed  with  ar- 
mies, then  know  that  the  desolation  thereof  is  nigh. 
T'hen  let  them  which  are  in  Judea  flee  to  the  moun- 
tains, and  let  them  which  are  in  the  midst  of  it  de- 
part out,  and  let  not  them  that  are  in  the  countries 
enter  thereinto ;  for  these  be  the  days  of  vengeance, 
that  all  things  which  are  written  may  be  fulfilled." 
Seeing  how  isolated  is  the  position  of  Jerusalem, 
how  conspicuous,  and  how  completely  under  the  eye 
of  an  encompassing  army,  a  signal  miracle  would 
have  been  requisite  to  the  fulfilment  of  this  com- 
mand, unless  such  an  opening  as  that  unconsciously 
afforded  by  the  infatuated  Celsius  had  appeared. 
The  Christian  Jews  in  the  city  amounted  to  many 
thousands,  even  long  before  this  time,  often  enjoying 
a  fair  measure  of  religious  toleration,  as  it  would 
seem ;  for  they  were  all  stedfast  in  the  observance 
of  their  law,  as  the  evangelist  tells  us  that  they  had 
been  from  the  first,  when  "  they,  continuing  daily 
with  one  accord  in  the  Temple,  and  breaking  bread 
from  house  to  house,  did  eat  their  meat  with  single- 
ness of  heart,  praising  God,  and  having  favour  with 
all  the  people."* 

It  is  alike  erroneous,  though  very  common,  to  con- 
sider these  believers  as  a  mere  handful,  and  to  re- 
gard them  as  separated  from  their  brethren  after  the 
flesh.  They  were  exceedingly  numerous,  and  they 
were  strict  observers  of  the  Mosaic  ritual,  having 
the  same  testimony  that  Paul  bore  to  his  inoffensive- 

*  Acts  ii.  46,  47. 


CHRISTIANS  IN  JERUSALEM.  27 

ness, — "  Neither  against  the  law  of  the  Jews,  neither 
against  the  Temple,  nor  yet  against  Caesar,  have  I 
offended  anything  at  all."  Such  being  their  position, 
they  were  free  to  act  as  they  saw  good ;  and  when 
they  beheld  the  armies  that  had  compassed  Jerusa- 
lem drawn  off,  and  not  only  an  unobstructed  passage 
opened,  but  the  warlike  population  of  the  city  pouring 
out  at  every  gate  in  hot  pursuit  of  the  retreating  foe, 
they  knew  that  the  hour  was  come,  that  they  must 
not  pause,  nor  lose  a  moment's  time,  but  hasten 
away  to  the  more  distant  mountains.  ,Their  flight 
was  not  in  the  winter,  neither  was  it  on  the  Sabbath 
day, — but  hasty  indeed  it  must  have  been  ;  and  with 
what  unutterable  anguish  of  spirit  must  they  have 
looked  back  on  the  proud,  unbroken  bulwarks  of  Zion, 
the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  already  stained  with  the  gore 
of  her  children  slain  in  civil  warfare,  the  dazzling 
splendour  of  that  majestic  edifice  that  crowned  the 
mountain  of  the  house  of  the  LORD  !  Too  well  they 
knew  that  the  drawn  sword  of  the  angel,  once  sheathed 
at  the  intercession  of  David,  when  there  he  stood  by 
the  threshing-floor  of  Araunah  the  Jebusite,  was 
again  pointing,  suspended  over  the  beloved,  the 
guilty  city,  to  smite  and  to  destroy  to  the  uttermost ; 
for  now  were  the  days  of  vengeance  come,  when 
every  lawful  prophecy  must  receive  its  fulfilment ; 
and,  Jews  as  they  were  to  the  inmost  core  of  their 
devoted  hearts,  how  must  the  laments  of  the  patriot 
prophet  Jeremiah  have  resounded  from  their  lips, 
as  weeping  they  pursued  their  way.  Appalling  as 
had  been  the  scenes  of  the  last  few  months  within 
those  walls,  freely  as  blood  had  flowed  on  every 
side, — the  hand  of  many  a  Hebrew  being  against 
his  brother, — still,  how  dear,  how  sacred,  were  the 
3* 


28  JUD^A    CAPTA. 


very  stones,  soon  to  be  thrown  down  in  utter  ruin, 
how  unutterably  precious  that  stately  house  of  God 
where  they  had  walked  in  unity,  and  taken  sweet 
counsel  together  !  Accustomed  as  we  are  to  witness 
the  breaking  of  all  national  and  domestic  ties  when 
a  Jew  believes  and  is  baptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
of  Nazareth,  we  can  scarcely  conceive  what  must 
have  been  the  feelings  of  such  a  Jew,  living  in  peace 
and  harmony  in  the  midst  of  all  his  brethren,  uniting 
in  their  daily  services,  holding  sacred  all  that  had 
been  of  old  ordained,  keeping  holy  with  their  nation 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  the  feasts  of  the  LORD, 
and  regarding  their  Zion,  "  the  city  of  their  solem- 
nities," as  established  to  be  the  joy  of  the  whole 
earth,  now  leaving  it,  leaving  it  for  ever,  leaving  it 
to  defilement,  to  destruction,  to  the  desolations  of 
many  generations,  —  we  have  no  hearts  to  sympa- 
thize with  them,  not  entering,  as  we  ought  to  do,  and 
as  they  did,  into  the  very  depths  of  their  divine 
Master's  weeping  compassion,  when  he  foretold 
what  they  now  beheld  :  "  The  days  shall  come  upon 
thee  that  thine  enemies  shall  cast  a  trench  about 
thee,  and  compass  thee  round,  and  keep  thee  in  on 
every  side,  and  shall  lay  thee  even  with  the  ground, 
and  thy  children  within  thee  ;  and  they  shall  not 
leave  in  thee  one  stone  upon  another,  because  thou 
knewest  not  the  time  of  thy  visitation." 

Yes,  they  went  forth  ;  and  as  they  went  the  tow- 
ers of  Zion  lessened  on  their  backward  gaze,  the 
burnished  gold  of  the  LORD'S  house  grew  dim,  the 
circuit  of  the  walls  became  an  indistinct  outline,  and 
soon,  too  soon,  the  swelling  hills  shut  out  even  that 
faint  vision  of  the  holy  city.  Then  burst  forth  the 
wail  that  would  no  longer  be  hushed,  and  those  poor 


A   SAD   FAREWELL.  29 

exiles,  while  humbly  rejoicing  in  the  rescuing  mercy 
of  the  Lord,  extended  to  them  and  to  their  little  ones, 
went  on  their  way,  lamenting  for  her  who  was  to  be 
the  spoiler's  prey.  "  If  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem, 
let  my  right  hand  forget !" 


JTJDJEA    CAPTA. 


CHAPTER  III. 

WHILE  the  men  of  Jerusalem  were  making  havoc 
of  the  Roman  army  on  its  retreat,  a  most  flagitious, 
but  not  unusual  act  of  cowardly  revenge  was  in 
contemplation  at  Damascus,  where  ten  thousand  in- 
offensive, unarmed,  and  imprisoned  Jews  were  deli- 
berately butchered  in  cold  blood,  by  the  murderous 
knife,  in  one  hour's  time.  This,  of  course  heightened 
the  exasperation  of  their  brethren,  who  proceeded 
to  put  Jerusalem  and  all  Judsea  into  the  most  defen- 
sive state  possible,  choosing  generals  for  the  various 
provinces,  and  exhibiting  inflexible  determination 
to  retain  that  independence,  yea,  to  recover  that  su- 
periority, which  was  of  old  the  gift  of  the  Most 
High  to  the  chosen  nation.  But  in  the  midst  of  this 
enterprising  display,  deep  sadness  possessed  the 
minds  of  the  most  reflecting  portion,  while  such  as 
looked  for  signs  from  heaven  found  many  confirma- 
tions of  their  worst  fears.  Selfish,  rapacious,  and 
tyrannical  men  began — as  in  circumstances  of  popular 
distress  such  characters  are  always  found  to  do — to 
gather  followers  around  them,  who  became  har- 
dened by  degrees,  until  they  were  proof  alike  against 
the  pleadings  of  religious  and  of  natural  feeling, 
seeking  their  own  advantage  amid  the  public  wreck. 
Meanwhile  the  disastrous  tidings  of  Celsus'  strange 
mismanagement  and  defeat,  reached  the  seat  of  em- 


PREDICTIONS    FULFILLED.  31 

pire ;  and  Nero,  satisfied  that  such  a  people  as  the 
Jews  had  shown  themselves  to  be,  would  not  quail 
before  any  but  extraordinary  demonstrations  of 
power,  gave  the  command  to  Vespasian,  as  the 
bravest  and  the  ablest  veteran  that  Rome  could  fur- 
nish. Assisted  by  his  son  Titus,  this  general  soon 
marshalled  an  army  fully  equal  to  the  conquest  of  a 
much  more  extensive  territory,  the  capture  of  a 
stronger  city,  and  the  subversion  of  a  more  power- 
ful people  than  those  against  whom  they  were  sent ; 
insufficient  to  over-run  a  rood  of  Judaea's  soil,  to  shake 
a  single  stone  in  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  or  to  injure  a 
hair  on  the  head  of  a  Jewish  child,  unless  the  Lord 
God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob,  had  been 
wroth  with  his  inheritance,  and  rejected  as  repro- 
bate silver  his  transgressing  people,  making  good 
the  menace  spoken  many  ages  before,  in  the  pros- 
pect of  this  day  of  provocation  and  overwhelming 
calamity — "  I  will  heap  mischiefs  upon  them  ;  I  will 
spend  mine  arrows  upon  them.  They  shall  be  burnt 
with  hunger,  and  devoured  with  burning  heat,  and 
with  bitter  destruction.  I  will  also  send  the  teeth  of 
beasts  upon  them,  with  the  poison  of  serpents  of  the 
dust.  The  sword  without,  and  terror  within,  shall 
destroy  both  the  young  man  and  the  virgin,  the 
suckling  also  with  the  man  of  grey  hairs." 

Far  be  it  from  the  writer,  far  from  every  reader 
of  these  pages,  to  review  with  complacent  acquies- 
cence the  terrible  dealings  of  the  Most  High  with 
his  ancient  nation.  No, — judgment  is  his  strange 
work;  he  has  not,  nor  ever  could  have,  any  plea- 
sure in  the  death  of  the  wicked,  and  ill  indeed  does 
it  become  any  one  bearing  the  name  of  Christian  to 
take  up  as  a  matter  of  amusement,  or  as  an  indif- 


32  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

ferent  thing,  or  as  a  pleasing  spectacle  of  divine  re- 
tribution, the  tale  of  that  over  which,  in  its  prospect 
Jesus  wept  tears  of  yearning  sorrow.  Neither  is  it 
safe  so  to  do  ;  for  in  the  same  sublime  song  of  Mo- 
ses just  quoted,  we  find  assurances  that  the  LORD, 
though  he  deliver  up  his  people  for  their  transgres- 
sions, will  yet  avenge  upon  their  adversaries  the 
cruelties  perpetrated  against  them,  with  a  marked 
distinction  in  favour  of  such  as  extend  sympathy  to 
his  scattered  flock.  "  Rejoice,  O  ye  nations,  with  his 
people  ;  for  he  will  avenge  the  blood  of  his  servants, 
and  will  render  vengeance  to  his  adversaries,  and 
will  be  merciful  unto  his  land  and  to  his  people." 
And  again  is  the  promise  given  to  the  friends  of  af- 
flicted Judah  :  "  Rejoice  ye  with  Jerusalem,  and  be 
glad  with  her,  all  ye  that  love  her ;  rejoice  for  joy 
with  her  all  ye  that  mourn  for  her,  that  ye  may  suck 
and  be  satisfied  with  the  breasts  of  her  consolations, 
that  ye  may  milk  out  and  be  delighted  with  the 
abundance  of  her  glory." 

True  it  is  that  an  awful  sense  of  departure  from 
the  pure  faith  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  from  the 
practice  resulting  therefrom,  marked  the  epoch  of 
which  we  treat,  while  sin  abounded  on  all  sides,  and 
in  many  forms.  Still  we  are  fully  persuaded  that 
all  the  darker  shades  of  the  picture  have  been  grie- 
vously blackened  over,  first  by  the  foreign  influence 
under  which  Josephus  wrote,  who  supplied  the  key- 
note to  succeeding  historians ;  and  latterly  by  the 
self-excusing  bitterness  of  chroniclers  among  the 
earlier  Gentile  Christians,  who  had  already  imbibed, 
with  the  milk  of  Rome's  semi-pagan  Christianity, 
her  unswerving  hatred  of  the  Jews,  gradually  souring 
into  its  present  state  of  papal  anti-christianism.  We 


CALUMNIES    OF   JOSEPHUS.  33 

do  not  credit  the  half  of  what  is  thus  handed  down 
as  history,  in  reference  to  the  dreadful  scenes  too 
certainly  enacted  within  the  holy  city ;  we  will  re- 
tail no  more  of  it  than  is  necessary  to  the  plainly 
authentic  narrative  of  what  was  accomplished  from 
without.  We  see  no  practical  use  in  heaping  con- 
demnation on  a  race  of  our  elder  brethren  long  since 
gathered  to  the  dust,  and  representing  them  as 
something  worse  than  devils  in  human  form.  We 
know  that  they  walked  contrary  to  God,  because, 
unless  they  had  done  so,  the  fearful  curses  already 
referred  to  would  not  have  come  upon  them,  as  they 
did.  to  the  uttermost ;  but  with  the  tales  of  Josephus 
and  his  successors  of  the  outrageous  crimes  com- 
mitted, the  more  than  maniac,  the  truly  diabolical 
acts  of  wanton  ferocity  perpetrated  against  them- 
selves in  the  midst  of  the  besieged  city,  we  cannot 
soil  our  pages,  nor  harden  our  own,  and  our  readers' 
hearts. 

The  Roman  army  was  equipped  for  this  expedition 
with  all  that  the  consummate  skill  in  manslaughter 
by  which  the  iron  empire  had  established  itself  upon 
the  earth  could  suggest.  It  is  described  in  the  pro- 
phetic Word  as  a  beast,  which,  unlike  the  Assyrian 
lion,  the  Persian  bear,and  the  Grecian  leopard,  belong- 
ed to  no  known  race,  but  was  "  dreadful  and  terrible, 
and  strong  exceedingly,  and  it  had  great  iron  teeth ; 
it  devoured,  and  brake  in  pieces,  and  stamped  the 
residue  with  the  feet  of  it,  and  it  was  diverse  from 
all  the  beasts  that  were  before  it."  Such,  to  the 
view  of  Daniel,  was  the  Roman  empire ;  such  it  has 
proved  to  be,  whether  regarded  in  its  ancient  and 
temporal,  or  in  its  modern  and  spiritual  aspect,  and 
such,  in  an  especial  manner,  has  it  ever  been  to 


34  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

Israel.  As  a  beast  to  which  a  man's  heart  was 
never  given,  this  power  has  scattered,  and  still  scat- 
ters, the  "  holy  people  "  of  Daniel,  the  Jews ;  and 
it  may  be  interesting  to  trace  the  particulars  of  the 
array  in  which  the  army  of  this  beast  went  forth 
against  the  couchant  lion  of  Judaea,  to  hunt  and  to 
drag  him  to  its  imperial  den. 

Nothing  could  be  more  admirably  conceived  than 
the  arrangement  of  the  Roman  troops,  already  from 
their  very  infancy  inured  to  every  description  of  mar- 
tial practice,  conducted  with  the  most  scrupulous  re- 
gard to  exact  discipline,  silence,  order  arid  despatch. 
Josephus  aptly  says  that  their  excejcises  might  be 
called  unbloody  battles,  and  their  battles  bloody  ex- 
ercises. War  was  to  them  a  science,  the  first  of 
sciences,  and  the  main  study  of  their  lives.  Men's 
praises  formed  their  earthly  heaven,  beyond  which 
they  looked  not — disgrace  in  the  world's  sight  the 
only  hell  they  found.  When  a  Roman  soldier 
marched  forth  on  a  campaign,  he  believed  himself  to 
be  laudably  fulfilling  the  first  end  of  his  existence  ; 
and  never  wras  he  so  glorious  in  his  own  eyes  as 
when  reeking  with  the  blood  of  the  slain,  and  bend- 
ing under  the  weight  of  spoil  rent  from  the  peaceful 
dwellings  of  an  enemy's  country, — all  being  his  le- 
gitimate enemies  who  were  not  tributary  to  Rome, 
lying  still  and  motionless  beneath  the  imperial  hoof. 
His  bodily  array  was  excellently  adapted  for  the 
work  that  he  undertook,  the  foot  soldiers  being 
armed  with  cuirass  and  helmet,  on  their  left  side  a 
long  sword,  on  their  right  a  dagger.  A  long  buck- 
ler rested  on  the  arm,  sufficient  to  protect  their 
bodies  from  hostile  darts,  and  these  bucklers  they 
often  turned  to  singular  use  in  assaulting  a  wall,  as 


ENGINES    OF    DESTRUCTION.  35 

we  shall  hereafter  see ;  a  keen  spear  was  in  their 
hands,  and  in  a  basket  each  man  carried  a  saw,  a 
pick-axe,  an  axe,  and  a  stout  throng  of  leather  with 
a  hook  attached,  besides  three  days'  provisions. 
The  cavalry  were  similarly  protected  by  helm  and 
cuirass,  having  a  long  sword  on  the  right  side,  a 
shield  resting  obliquely  against  the  horse's  body,  a 
quiver  containing  darts  with  heads  equally  broad  as 
a  spear's  point,  and  a  long  pole  in  their  hand.  Thus 
equipped,  the  general  being  at  their  head,  and  the 
last  of  the  trumpet-signals  having  sounded,  a  crier, 
stationed  at  the  general's  right  hand,  thrice  put  the 
question,  Were  they  now  ready  to  go  forth  to  war 
or  not  ?  A  universal  shout  of  "  We  are  ready," 
then  burst  forth,  accompanied  with  the  elevation  of 
their  right  hands,  and  under  the  enthusiastic  feeling 
thus  excited  they  set  forward. 

Arrived  at  a  suitable  position  for  encamping,  the 
order  in  which  they  did  so  was  no  less  striking. 
When  on  hostile  ground,  they  not  only  pitched  their 
tents  with  the  exactness  of  a  well-planned  town,  but 
walled  the  camp  around.  If  the  ground  presented 
an  irregular  surface  they  levelled  it,  and  having 
placed  the  general's  tent,  much  like  a  temple,  in  the 
exact  centre,  surrounded  by  those  of  the  inferior 
commanders,  they  ranged  the  other  tents  in  streets, 
with  mathematical  precision ;  forming  four  gates, 
and  strengthening  the  outer  wall  with  towers,  be- 
tween which  they  placed  the  engines  so  terribly  effi- 
cacious in  their  campaigns.  These  consisted  princi- 
pally of  the  battering-ram  and  the  catapult.  The 
former  was  an  enormous  beam  of  wood,  ai  the  end 
of  which  was  a  solid  piece  of  iron,  shaped  like  a 
ram's  head  ;  and  this  being  slung  with  considerable 
4  ~ 


art  in  a  suitable  framework  was  pulled  back,  by  the 
united  strengh  of  many  men,  as  far  as  it  would  strain^ 
and  then  allowed  to  swing  forward  with  an  impetus 
that  drove  the  iron  head  so  violently  against  any  op- 
posing substance  as  quickly  to  batter  down  the  stout- 
est wall  by  its  rapidly-repeated  strokes.  The  catapult 
was  yet  more  terrible  ;  resembling  an  immense  cross- 
bow, it  had  power  to  hurl  with  irresistible  violence 
not  only  darts,  but  huge  stones,  fragments  of  rock, 
bars  of  iron,  and  every  destructive  missile  that  could 
be  collected.  A  shot  from  one  of  these  deadly  en- 
gines could  level  a  tower,  and  literally  dash  to  frag- 
ments a  body  of  men,  scattering  them  in  the  air  like 
straws.  Such  were  some  of  the  munitions  of  war 
contained  in  a  Roman  camp.  When  we  add  to  this 
the  clock-work  regularity  with  which  every  order 
was  issued,  every  action  performed,  every  meal 
served  up,  and  even  the  morning  and  evening  salu- 
tations of  officers  and  men  interchanged,  it  is  not 
possible  to  conceive  a  more  exquisite  picture  of  per- 
fect discipline,  comfort,  and  mutual  confidence,  than 
that  which  existed  in  a  Roman  camp.  It  was  evi- 
dently formed  on  the  perfection  of  all  models,  that 
of  Israel  in  the  wilderness. 

When  a  position  was  to  be  abandoned,  the  men 
having  marched  out  with  all  their  personal  equip- 
ments and  weapons  of  every  kind,  the  camp  was 
fired,  and  burnt  to  the  ground ;  thus  at  once  ridding 
the  army  of  a  considerable  incumbrance,  saving 
much  valuable  time,  and  depriving  the  enemy  of 
such  advantages  as  might  result  from  spoiling,  or 
from  converting  to  his  own  use  what  had  been 
erected.  The  extent  of  their  encampments,  and  con- 
sequently the  charred  ruin  that  remained,  combined 


ROMAN    AMBITION.  37 

with  the  plunder  of  surrounding  districts  to  supply 
their  need,  gives  singular  force  to  the  prophet's  de- 
scription :  "  A  fire  devoureth  before  them  ;  and  be- 
hind them  a  flame  burneth ;  the  land  is  as  the  gar- 
den of  Eden  before  them,  and  behind  them  a  deso- 
late wilderness ;  yea,  and  nothing  shall  escape 
them."  "  It  devoured  and  brake  in  pieces,  and 
stamped  the  residue  with  the  feet  of  it." 

Considering  the  object  for  which  man  was  made, 
that  he  might  glorify  his  righteous  Creator,  whose 
tender  mercies  are  over  all  his  works  ;  who  desireth 
not  the  death  of  a  sinner,  and  who  never  willingly 
afflicts  the  children  of  men,  it  is  indeed  an  awful 
contempletion  to  trace  the  triumph  of  Satan  through 
succeeding  ages  in  the  most  powerful  empire  that 
ever  arose  upon  earth,  making  it  the  one  end  of 
every  man's  being  to  hurt  and  to  destroy  his  fellow- 
men.  Conquest,  for  its  own  sake,  was  the  continual 
pursuit  of  the  Romans.  A  fierce  and  cruel  ambi- 
tion, a  desire  to  wade  to  the  chief  places  in  every 
nation  through  the  blood  of  its  people,  a  determina- 
tion to  endure  no  equal  in  the  ferocious  art  of  homi- 
cide, and  a  vaunting  confidence  in  their  own  unap- 
proachable pre-eminence  in  that  horrid  trade,  com- 
bined to  form  the  character  of  the  race,  who  cer- 
tainly deserve  to  hold  the  highest  rank  among  the 
destroyers  of  their  kind.  We  have  dwelt  on  the 
spectacle  of  their  military  armaments  not  for  any 
gratification  to  be  derived  therefrom.  God  forbid  ! 
but  because  they  and  their  proceedings  were  so  mi- 
nutely described  in  various  parts  of  the  prophetic 
Word  as  to  render  it  a  commentary  on  holy  writ ; 
more  especially  when  such  a  host  went  forth  to  ex- 
ecute judgment  upon  a  people  whose  ancient  prero- 


38  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

gative  it  was  to  root  out  from  the  face  of  the  earth 
nations  defiling  it  by  their  abominable  idolatries. 
To  us  it  is  also  interesting,  inasmuch  as  these  very 
Romans,  commanded  by  Vespasian,  had  been  mak- 
ing havoc  of  our  own  forefathers,  and  drenching 
Britain  in  the  blood  of  her  children.  The  ground 
beneath  our  feet  has  echoed  to  the  tramp  of  these 
steel-clad  armies ;  and  in  our  rural  walks  we  fre- 
quently may  trace  the  well-marked  boundary  ot 
some  such  camp  as  has  been  here  described ;  with 
its  rampart  mound,  its  external  fosse,  and  other  re- 
mains surviving  the  havoc  of  eighteen  centuries. 
But  never  did  the  hosts  of  Rome  go  forth  to  a  work 
so  fearful  as  that  which  led  them  to  make  Judsea  a 
spoil,  and  Jerusalem  a  prey.  Josephus,  after  giving 
a  minute  account  of  what  we  have  briefly  sketched, 
significantly  adds,  that  he  did  it  "not  so  much  with 
the  intention  of  commending  the  Romans  as  of  com- 
forting those  that  have  been  conquered  by  them ; 
and  for  the  deterring  of  others  from  attempting  in- 
novations  under  their  government"  We,  therefore, 
make  due  allowance  for  exaggeration,  where  the 
proposed  object  was  to  show  how  "  dreadful  and  ter- 
rible, and  strong  exceedingly,"  was  the  Roman 
beast ;  but  genuine  history  fully  confirms  his  state- 
ment of  their  military  aspect,  order  of  march,  and 
plan  of  encampment. 

From  Antioch,  the  capital  of  Syria,  Vespasian  led 
his  army  to  Ptolemais,  where  Titus  joined  him  with 
another  host ;  and  they  marched  at  once  upon  Gali- 
lee in  the  following  order.  The  auxiliaries,  more 
lightly  armed  than  the  Roman  soldiers,  with  the 
body  of  archers,  formed  the  van ;  keeping  somewhat 
in  advance^  that  they  might  carefully  explore  the 


ORDER    OF   MARCH.  39 

country,  and  give  notice  of  any  hostile  or  other  ob- 
struction ;  searching  especially  where  the  nature  of 
the  ground  admitted  some  possible  ambuscade. 
Next  came  that  portion  of  the  army  which  was  clad 
in  complete  armour;  then  a  company  formed  by 
drafting  ten  out  of  every  hundred  men,  whose  busi- 
ness it  was  to  measure  out  and  adjust  the  camp  ;  for 
which  they  carried  tj^e  requisite  implements  in  ad- 
dition to  their  arms.  Pioneers,  prepared  to  advance 
and  level  the  ground,  or  otherwise  to  remove  what- 
ever might  obstruct  the  march,  formed  the  next  di- 
vision ;  after  whom  came  the  carriages  of  the  gene- 
ral and  subordinate  commanders,  guarded  by  a 
company  of  horsemen  5  and  then  Vespasian  himself, 
with  a  select  escort,  immediately  followed  by  his 
own  cavalry,  a  peculiar  corps  chosen  out  of  every 
legion.  After  these  came  the  mules,  heavily  laden 
with  those  ponderous  articles  already  specified, 
which,  when  put  together,  formed  the  engines  for  a 
siege.  Commanders  of  cohorts,  and  tribunes,  guarded 
by  another  picked  band,  succeeded  ;  and  after  them 
the  military  ensigns,  surrounding  "  the  abomination 
of  desolation,"  the  imperial  Eagle,  held  most  sacred 
by  the  superstitious  pagans,  whose  vain  fables 
armed  it  with  the  thunder  of  their  principal  demon- 
god.  The  trumpeters  held  their  station  close  upon 
these  ensigns,  immediately  preceding  the  main  body 
of  the  army,  formed  in  squadrons  and  battalions  six 
deep  ;  a  single  centurion  bringing  up  the  rear.  A 
mixed  multitude,  mercenaries  and  irregular  troops, 
servants,  muleteers,  and  plundering  vagrants  ready 
to  fly  upon  any  spoil,  completed  this  fearful  array ; 
and  the  first  place  on  which  they  seized  was  the  city 

of  the  Gadarenes ;  the  place  where,  terrified  by  the 
4* 


40  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

destruction  of  their  swine,  the  inhabitants  had  met 
Jesus,  and  besought  him  to  depart  out  of  their 
coasts.  Alas  !  a  far  different  visitation  had  now  be- 
fallen them.  Vespasian  took  the  place  at  the  first 
onset,  and  delivered  over  to  the  sword  the  youths, 
women,  and  children,  whom  he  found  therein ;  the 
men  being  nearly  all  absent,  probably  being  gone 
up  to  one  of  the  great  feasts  at  Jerusalem.  In  like 
manner  were  the  surrounding  villages  pillaged, 
burnt,  and  covered  with  slaughtered  bodies  ;  all  who 
were  not  butchered  being  carried  into  slavery.  It 
seemed  a  prosperous  beginning,  and  promising  him 
an  easy  conquest  of  the  whole  land ;  and,  elated 
with  his  success,  he  marched  forward  to  capture 
Jotapata,  a  fortified  town,  which  he  could  not  safely 
leave  in  the  rear  of  his  army. 


CITY    OF   JOTAPATA.  41 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THIS  city  of  Jotapata,  which  besides  its  natural 
strength  of  position,  was  well  fortified,  and  garri- 
soned by  a  determined  body  of  Jews  under  Josepkus, 
proved  a  formidable  obstacle  in  the  invader's  path. 
For  no  less  than  forty-seven  days  did  the  heroic  de- 
fenders baffle  all  that  Roman  might,  craft,  and  vio- 
lence could  bring  to  bear  against  them.  The  ut- 
most force  of  their  arms,  every  stratagem,  and  every 
conceivable  species  of  barbarity,  proved  ineffectual 
to  conquer  the  resolution  of  those  devoted  Jews. 
When  first  the  enemy  placed  themselves  in  triple 
array  round  the  city,  with  a  terrible  display  of  their 
commanding  force,  the  Jews  leaped  out  over  the  walls, 
fell  on  them,  and  maintained  a  desperate  battle  till 
night  parted  them,  when  they  retired  within  their 
gates  ;  but  on  the  following  morning  they  again  sal- 
lied forth,  and  in  like  manner  for  five  days  repeated 
the  assault  on  the  Roman  lines.  To  estimate  aright 
the  courage  of  its  defenders,  we  must  bear  in  mind 
that  the  city  stood  on  an  exceedingly  high  hill,  sur- 
rounded by  other  mountains  that  completely  en- 
closed it.  On  all  sides  this  hill  was  precipitous,  ex- 
cepting the  north,  where  a  gradual  slope  terminated 
in  a  plain  ;  and  some  part  of  the  city  was  built  on 
the  descent.  Josephus  had  encompassed  the  lower 
ground  with  a  wall  for  additional  security.  It  was 


42  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

over  this  rampart  that  the  Jews  flung  themselves 
in  headlong  determination  upon  the  besiegers ; 
while  from  the  upper  heights  their  wives,  children, 
parents,  were  spectators  of  the  deadly  combat  Ves- 
pasian found  it  necessary  to  call  a  council  of  war 
for  deliberation,  which  ended  in  despatching  the 
men  in  all  directions  to  fell  the  timber  on  the  sur- 
rounding mountains,  to  collect  large  stones,  and 
bring  together  whatever  might  assist  in  forming  a 
bank,  and  storming  the  city.  In  the  prosecution  of 
this  work,  the  very  hillocks  were  torn  down,  and 
brought  in  heaps  of  earth  to  the  spot,  where  power- 
ful and  expert  hands  moulded  them  into  an  embank- 
ment ;  while  under  cover  of  hurdles  formed  of  the 
branches  of  trees  just  felled,  the  engines,  the  batter- 
ing ram,  catapult,  and  other  formidable  implements 
of  assault,  were  advantageously  placed.  But  the 
Jews  were  not  idle :  they  hurled  large  stones  and 
framents  of  rock  from  their  intrenchments  upon  the 
workmen,  breaking  the  protecting  hurdles,  and  crush- 
ing the  men ;  or  by  well  directed  showers  of  darts 
drove  them  from  their  posts. 

In  the  face  of  this  opposition,  the  Romans  suc- 
ceeded in  planting  a  hundred  and  sixty  engines 
against  the  hill,  and  from  these  they  threw  up  not 
only  stones  and  ordinary  darts,  but  lances  mixed  with 
masses  of  combustible  matter  ignited,  and  sent  in 
showers  upon  the  wall,  whence  its  defenders  were 
presently  driven  ;  but  without  advantage  to  the  ene- 
my :  for  now  they  made  separate  sallies,  coming  un- 
expectedly in  small  bands  upon  detached  parts  of 
the  outworks,  tearing  away  the  hurdles,  and  slaying 
the  workmen.  This  compelled  Vespasian  to  inter- 
mit the  assault,  in  order  to  strengthen  his  works  and 


DEFENSIVE    STRATAGEM.  43 

accomplish  a  nearer  approach  to  the  walls,  while 
the  Jews,  with  equal  celerity,  improved  their  de- 
fences. They  stretched  the  flexible  hides  of  newly 
slain  oxen  upon  strong  stakes,  which,  yielding  mo- 
mentarily to  the  blow,  allowed  the  heavy  missiles  to 
expend  their  force,  and  completely  protected  the 
garrison  in  their  new  occupation  of  raising  the  wall 
to  the  height  of  twenty  cubits.  Even  fire  proved 
harmless  against  the  hides  ;  they  were  too  moist  to 
ignite,  and  in  the  very  teeth  of  the  amazed  and  mor- 
tified assailants,  strong  towers  were  added,  with  bat- 
tlements along  the  whole  ridge  of  wall :  this  being 
done,  the  sallies  were  renewed  with  fresh  vigour; 
while  Vespasian  resolved  to  remain  quiet,  acting 
only  on  the  defensive,  until  the  city  should  be  starved 
into  a  surrender.  His  principal  hope  was  built  on 
the  probable  failure  of  water  within  the  walls ;  and 
of  this  there  was  present  danger ;  but  the  children 
of  Israel,  preferring  death  in  battle  to  the  lingering 
agonies  of  starvation,  by  a  desperate  stratagem  de- 
luded the  enemy  on  this  point, — they  saturated  their 
garments  with  fresh  water,  now  becoming  scarce, 
and  hung  them  on  the  battlements  to  dry.  The  Ro- 
mans, amazed  to  see  the  precious  element  running 
profusely  down  the  walls,  concluded  that  they  had 
some  inexhaustible  supply,  and  no  longer  hoping  to 
famish  them,  renewed  the  attack.  Some  daring  in- 
dividuals also  had  contrived  to  lower  themselves 
down  a  precipice  so  steep  that  the  besiegers  never 
dreamed  of  guarding  its  foot,  and,  covered  with 
sheepskins,  crept  warily  through  the  woods,  bring- 
ing home  supplies  from  their  brethren  in  the  neigh- 
bouring vallies.  The  accidental  discovery  of  this 
stratagem  convinced  Vespasian  that  he  must  take 


44  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

the  city,  or  lose  more  time  before  it  than  he  could 
afford.  At  this  juncture  Josephus  resolved  to  get 
away  secretly,  and  provide  for  his  own  safety  ;  but 
his  design  being  discovered,  the  agony  of  the  peo- 
ple, old  men,  children,  and  women  with  infants  in 
their  arms,  throwing  themselves  at  his  feet  with  bit- 
ter cries  and  lamentations,  imploring  him  to  remain, 
and,  as  he  confesses,  leading  him  to  fear  that  if  he 
did  not  yield  he  would  be  detained  by  force,  prevailed 
against  his  selfish  project.  He  armed  himself  with 
the  general  despair,  and  told  them  now  was  the  time 
to  begin  to  fight  in  earnest,  when  no  hope  of  deliv- 
erence  remained.  "  'Tis  a  brave  thing,"  said  he, 
"  to  prefer  glory  before  life,  and  to  set  about  some  such 
noble  undertaking  as  may  be  remembered  by  poster- 
ity." It  is  remembered  by  posterity,  but  with  how 
different  a  feeling  from  that  excited  by  the  conduct  of 
Nehemiah,  or  the  many  ancient  worthies  of  Israel 
who  wrought  mighty  deeds  by  faith  in  the  God  of 
their  father  Abraham  !  Out  of  his  own  mouth  we 
are  compelled  to  judge  this  degenerate  Hebrew,  who 
mocked  with  the  pagan  cant  of  fame  and  glory  the 
ears  of  his  perishing  people.  After  uttering  these 
vain  words,  he  headed  a  sally  of  unprecedented  dar- 
ing. Dispersing  the  enemy  from  before  the  walls, 
they  cut  their  way  to  the  very  camp,  and  tore  the 
covering  from  many  tents  before  they  were  repulsed. 
In  all  these  encounters  the  heavy  armour  of  the  Ro- 
mans proved  an  encumbrance  to  them,  enabling  the 
Jews,  at  will,  to  regain  their  walls,  and  take  breath 
in  the  bosom  of  their  mountain  home.  Their  most 
effective  assailants  were  the  Arabian  archers  and  Sy- 
rian slingers, — the  sons  of  Ishmael  inflicted  many  a 
wound  on  the  children  of  Isaac.  Still  the  balance 


STORMING    OF   JOTAPATA.  45 

appeared  favourable  to  the  besieged,  and  Vespasian 
decided  on  bringing  up  his  last  resort,  the  terrible 
battering-ram.  A  number  of  their  ordinary  engines 
were  ranged  before  the  most  assailable  point  of  the 
bulwarks ;  archers  and  slingers  stood  beside  them, 
and  under  their  galling  discharge  the  Jews  were 
driven  behind  the  battlements ;  while,  cased  in  a 
framework  of  hurdles,  and  further  protected  by  a 
thick  covering  of  skins,  the  ram  was  planted,  and 
the  first  fierce  blow  of  its  enormous  iron  head  caused 
that  hastily-built  wall  to  totter  to  its  foundation. 
Terror  and  dismay  siezed  on  the  citizens,  but  the 
garrison  speedily  devised  an  adequate  defence. 
Filling  large  sacks  with  chaff,  they  slung  them 
thickly  over  the  wall,  and  the  strokes  of  the  ram  fell 
as  powerless  upon  these  soft  bodies  as  had  the  earlier 
missiles  against  the  fresh  hides.  The  Romans  re- 
moved the  ram ;  the  Jews,  with  equal  celerity,  dis- 
placed their  sacks,  and  fortified  with  them  whatsoever 
part  of  the  wall  was  menaced.  Then  came  the 
iron  hooks  of  the  soldiery  into  requisition ;  they  fixed 
them  on  long  poles,  and  so  tore  down  the  sacks, 
giving  full  effect  to  the  blows  of  the  deadly  engine. 
Immediately  the  Jews,  forsaking  the  wall,  burst  out 
in  three  several  places,  armed  with  burning  torches ; 
one  party  setting  fire  to  the  banks,  another  to  the 
hurdles,  and  the  third  to  the  machine  itself.  Sulphur, 
bitumen,  and  pitch,  were  among  the  materials  abun- 
dantly used  by  the  assailants,  together  with  vast 
quantities  of  dry  wood.  On  these  the  flames  seized, 
— a  gulph  of  fire  interposed  between  the  enemy  and 
their  most  important  works,  rendering  approach  im- 
possible, and  in  one  hour  the  work  of  many  toilsome 
days  and  nights  was  consumed  to  ashes. 


46  JUDJEA    CAPTA. 

In  the  midst  of  this  achievement,  Eleazer,  a  Ga- 
lilean Jew,  took  so  correct  an  aim  from  the  wall 
with  an  immense  stone,  that  he  broke  off  the  iron 
ram's-head  from  the  beam,  then  descending,  caugh 
it  up,  and  bore  it  in  triumph  to  the  battlements, 
amid  a  shower  of  darts.  There,  mortally  wounded, 
he  stood  exultingly  in  the  face  of  the  enraged  be- 
siegers, until,  pierced  with  many  shafts,  he  fell  down 
dead,  still  grasping  his  trophy.  The  fire  having 
spent  itself,  they  proceeded  to  repair  their  loss,  and 
again  erected  the  ram  against  the  same  point. 
Here  Vespasian  was  slightly  wounded, — an  event 
that  stimulated  his  army  to  renewed  efforts.  The 
Jews,  meanwhile,  though  falling  dead  in  heaps, 
ceased  not  to  assail  the  ram,  and  those  who  worked 
it,  with  stones,  darts,  fire,  and  every  possible  instru- 
ment of  offensive  warfare.  They  effected  little,  and 
suffered  much ;  the  lights  that  they  bore  rendered 
them,  as  night  closed,  clear  marks  for  hostile  archery, 
while  darkness,  resting  on  the  engines  and  their 
guards,  baffled  the  assailants'  eye.  That  was  a 
fearful  night!  the  thundering  strokes  of  the  ram, 
and  vollies  of  immense  stones,  darts,  and  human 
bodies  continually  hurled  against  the  walls,  were  re- 
sponded to  by  the  cries  of  terrified  women  and  chil- 
dren, the  shrieks  of  their  despair,  and  the  deep 
groans  of  the  dying,  who  knew  that  they  fell  in  vain. 
These  mingled  sounds,  swelled  by  the  Roman  shout 
of  menacing,  exulting  rage,  were  caught  up  by  a 
thousand  mountain  echoes  and  reverberated  again 
and  again ;  affrighting  those  once  peaceful,  once 
happy,  once  most  blessed  retreats,  where  Hebrew 
shepherds  were  wont  to  pasture  their  flocks,  and  the 
maidens  of  Israel  to  breathe  in  sacred  dances,  the 


DESPERATE    DEFENCE.  47 

praises  of  the  Lord.  We  cannot  dwell  on  the  awfully 
graphic  details  that  follow, — we  must  hasten  onward. 
The  breach  was  made,  and  the  Jewish  commander, 
preparatory  to  one  last,  desperate  defensive  exploit, 
ordered  the  women  to  be  shut  up  in  their  houses,  lest 
the  sight  of  their  despairing  terror  should  unman  the 
garrison ;  for  when  they  saw  the  walls  cast  down, 
and  the  terrible  array  beyond  of  armed  foes,  to  whom 
the  very  name  of  mercy  was  unknown,  they  uttered 
an  outcry  so  piercing  that  it  might  well  melt  into 
more  than  woman's  softness  the  heart  of  man.  Ay, 
the  hearts  of  Judah's  men ;  the  Roman  beast,  the 
"  dreadful  and  terrible,  and  strong  exceedingly," 
had  no  heart  for  any  plea  to  move. 

The  ladders  were  planted,  all  the  trumpets  gave 
out  at  once  their  loudest  blast,  and  on  came  the  iron 
legions  in  irresistible  array,  with  a  shout  so  overpow- 
ering that  the  Jews  stopped  their  ears  from  hearing 
it,  while  they  bent  their  bodies  to  elude  a  volley  of 
darts  actually  intercepting  the  light  of  day  around 
them  by  its  density.  They  then  burst  out  once  more, 
to  encounter  the  steadily-advancing  foe,  and  choked 
up  the  pathway  with  their  dead  and  dying  bodies. 
They  fell  in  vain.  On  came  the  legions  still,  and 
all  was  then  lost,  had  not  another  daring  act  of  des- 
peration checked  their  progress.  Numbers  of  the 
Jews  flew  to  their  stores,  and  filling  every  iron  pot  they 
could  find  with  oil,  heated  it  to  a  boiling  pitch,  and 
poured  it  on  the  Romans,  flinging  the  burning  ves- 
sels after  it.  While  this  unexpected  manoeuvre  took 
effect  on  the  enemy's  van,  whose  sudden  retreat, 
writhing  in  torture,  threw  the  rest  into  confusion,  the 
Jews  mads  the  most  of  the  interval  to  cover  the  steep 
with  grease ;  so  that  on  rallying  to  the  charge,  the 
5 


48  JUDJEA    CAPTA. 

heavily-armed  assailants  were  unable  to  man  tain  a 
footing  on  the  slippery  ground,  but  fell  backward  on 
their  comrades,  and  on  the  engines,  and  banks,  where 
they  were  slaughtered  to  a  great  amount :  insomuch 
that  Vespasian,  instead  of  planting  his  ensign  on  the 
height  of  Jotopata,  was  compelled  to  call  in  his  forces, 
and  secure  them  within  their  entrenchments ;  nor 
did  he  resume  the  storming  of  the  city,  convinced 
that  it  would  be  necessary  first  to  elevate  his  banks 
above  the  level  of  the  walls,  and  to  erect  towers  of 
such  commanding  height  that  no  weapon  from  below 
might  reach  the  men  stationed  on  their  battlements. 
This  occupied  some  days,  and  how  long  the  besieged 
might  have  protracted  their  intrepid  defence  none 
can  say ; — tTJffiCJtoy  from  within  accomplished  what 
the  mighty  armament  of  Rome  could  not,  in  more 
than  six  weeks'  struggle,  achieve.  A  deserter  from 
the  city  betrayed  its  actual  condition,  and  directed 
Vespasian  to  take  it  by  surprise.  They  entered  it 
in  the  night,  slaughtered  the  watch  in  silence,  and 
before  day  dawned  were  masters  of  the  place  ;  unsus- 
pected by  the  sleeping  inhabitants,  who  woke  but  to 
perish  by  the  hands  of  the  merciless  foe.  A  strange 
heavy  mist  overspread  the  scene,  as  though  that 
work  of  blood  were  too  piteous  for  the  face  of  heav- 
en to  look  upon.  Confused  in  a  dense  cloud,  naked, 
helpless,  hopeless,  unable  to  offer  any  defence,  and 
without  taking  the  life  of  an  assailant,  the  men  of 
Jotopata  offered  their  necks  to  the  savage  soldiers 
whose  weapons  glanced  on  their  awakening  eyes. 
Not  one  was  spared ;  on  that  day  all  were  put  to 
death  who  could  be  openly  seen,  and  the  victors 
rested  to  ravage  in  the  spoil.  On  the  following  day 
a  strict  search  was  instituted  into  every  cavern  and 


THE    CLOSING   MASSACRE.  49 

possible  hiding-place,  whence  many  more  were  drag- 
ged forth  and  butchered.  Josephus  himself,  and  one 
companion  were  spared.  Twelve  hundred  desolate 
women  and  little  babes  were  reserved  for  captivity, 
far,  far  worse  than  death.  Forty  thousand  Jewish 
men  and  youths  had  shed  their  blood  in  the  defence, 
and  in  the  massacre  that  ended  it.  The  city  was 
demolished,  the  wall  was  razed,  and  the  silence  of 
death  soon  reigned  unbroken  around. 

"  Oh  that  mine  eyes  were  waters,  and  my  head  a 
fountain  of  tears,  that  I  might  weep  day  and  night 
for  the  slain  of  the  daughter  of  my  people !" 


60  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 


CHAPTER  V. 

IT  is  not  our  purpose  to  follow  the  Roman  invader 
step  by  step  in  his  career  of  blood,  nor  to  trace  the 
alternate  workings  of  brute  courage  and  dastardly 
fear  in  his  sanguinary  proceedings*  We  pass  over 
the  successive  outrages  perpetrated  at  Joppa,  and  in 
Tarichsea ;  but  at  the  sea-fight  on  Genesareth,  and  its 
results,  we  must  pause  for  a  moment.  Tarichsea  stood 
upon  its  borders,  and  when  Titus,  to  whose  lot  it  fell  to 
command  there,  had  desolated  it  to  his  satisfaction, 
he  found  that  a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants  had 
fled  to  their  little  ships,  and  were  sailing  on  the  lake, 
or  sea,  of  Tiberias,  in  the  vain  hope  of  ultimately 
escaping.  On  this  he  despatched  a  messenger  to 
his  father,  who  immediately  joined  him,  directing 
the  equipment  of  a  number  of  vessels  for  the  pursuit. 

Against  these  vessels,  fitted  for  the  purpose  and 
manned  by  Roman  soMiery,  the  poor  fugitives  could 
not  possibly  offer  any  effectual  resistance ;  they, 
however,  did  their  best,  mano3uvring  on  the  water, 
casting  stones  at  the  enemy,  which  harmlessly  re- 
bounded from  their  iron  mail,  and  receiving  in  their 
own  defenceless  bodies  the  Roman  darts.  When 
some  determined  crew  dared  an  enemy's  crew  to  the 


MARINE   MASSACRE.  51 

fight,  the  latter  caught  up  long  poles,  with  which 
they  reached  them,  thrust  them  through,  or  forced 
them  overboard,  or,  leaping  furiously  into  their  frail 
barks,  slew  them  with  the  sword.  Frequently  they 
ran  down  upon  one  of  the  "  little  ships,"  breaking  it 
in  the  middle  by  the  violence  of  the  shock,  and 
when  the  drowning  crew  lifted  up  their  hands  in 
supplication  for  mercy,  they  received  such  mercy  as 
Rome  is  ever  wont  to  extend, — those  pleading  hands 
were  presently  chopped  off  by  the  savage  soldiers, 
and  the  heads  that  rose  above  the  blood-stained 
waters  were  mown  like  grass  by  the  sweep  of  the 
glittering  sword.  Some,  wrecked  in  their  shattered 
vessels  on  the  shore,  leaped  to  land ;  others  gained 
it  by  swimming,  and  ere  they  could  recover  breath, 
or  stand  on  the  defensive,  they  were  slaughtered  by 
the  troops  who  thronged  the  margin  of  the  lake. 
Not  one  escaped.  ^  Six  thousand  five  hundred  man-'! 
gled  bodies  polluted  file  water,  or  sweltered  in  cor-j 
ruption  on  its  banks.  Capernaum,  one  of  the  love- 
liest and  most  fertile  tracts  of  country  under  heaven, 
was  rendered  loathsome  by  the  exhalations  that 
poisoned  the  air,  while  the  piteous  spectacle  of  those 
ghastly  and  swollen  bodies,  outstretched  beneath  the 
glaring  sun,  the  miserable  wrecks  of  their  poor 
broken  navy,  and  the  ripple  of  blood,  rather  than 
water,  upon  the  verdant  shore,  gemmed  as  it  was 
with  flowers  and  shrubs  of  glorious  beauty,  even  to 
the  point  where  that  crimson  ripple  paused,  wrung 
exclamations  of  compassion,  it  is  said,  even  from 

5* 


52  JUD^A   CAPTA. 


the  Roman  manslayers,  whose  hands  had  wrought 
the  ruin. 

Tarichsea  was  peopled,  when  Titus  advanced  upon 
it,  by  a  mingled,  but  not  united,  population,  com- 
posed of  its  original  inhabitants  and  a  body  of  for- 
eigners whose  presence  they  deprecated.  These 
latter  had  offered  the  resistance  that  exasperated 
Titus,  while  the  former  showed  all  willingness  to 
submit  to  the  Roman,  and  even  fell  unresistingly  in 
the  slaughter,  so  that  a  great  number  of  them  were 
spared  as  having  given  no  offence,  and  reserved  by 
Titus  for  the  decision  of  his  father.  Vespasian,  after 
witnessing  the  marine  massacre,  and  ascertaining 
that  none  survived  excepting  these  captives,  as- 
cended the  tribunal,  surrounded  by  his  chief  officers, 
to  determine  their  fate.  He  seemed  somewhat  in- 
clined to  spare  them,  but  those  about  him  argued, 
first,  that  nothing  could  be  unjust  or  impious  that 
was  perpetrated  against  Jews  ;  and,  secondly,  that  ex- 
pediency required  their  destruction,  lest  they  might 
hereafter  revolt  and  give  him  trouble.  The  deed 
suggested  —  that  of  a  promiscuous  slaughter,  in  cold 
blood,  of  a  multitude  of  innocent,  unoffending  sup- 
pliants, whose  safety  he  had  already  guaranteed  —  ap- 
peared too  infamous  for  even  a  Roman  general  to 
engage  in,  while  the  heart-rending  spectacle  above 
described  lay  outspread  before  them  ;  he,  therefore, 
anxious  to  avoid  rousing  the  whole  country  against 
him,  used  a  little  dissimulation,  leading  the  victims 
to  believe  that  their  lives  were  given  them  for  o 
prey,  and  directing  them  to  leave  the  place,  but  by 


VESPASIAN'S  TREACHERY.  53 

no  other  road  than  that  which  led  to  Tiberias.  The 
poor  creatures,  rejoicing  in  their  escape,  collected 
their  moveable  property  and  departed  for  Tiberias, 
which  was  immediately  surrounded  by  the  army 
who  suffered  no  one  to  leave  it  until  Vespasian  him- 
self arrived,  personally  to  superintend  the  execution 
of  his  fiendish  plan.  He  commanded  the  whole 
body  of  fugitives  to  be  assembled  in  the  stadium, 
and  there  directed  the  immediate  murder  of  the  old 
men  and  such  as  he  deemed  useless,  in  the  presence  ; 
of  their  agonized  families,  to  the  number  of  twelve 
hundred;  from  the  young  men  he  selected  six 
thousand  of  the  strongest,  and  sent  them  to  Nero, 
to  dig  through  the  isthmus.  Thirty  thousand  four 
hundred  he  sold  for  slaves  to  whosoever  would  pur- 
chase them,  making  a  present  to  King  Agrippa  of  a 
large  number,  his  own  subjects,  with  free  leave  to 
dispose  of  them,  as  he  pleased  ;  but  Agrippa,  to  his 
shame  and  everlasting  disgrace,  sold  these  also  to 
slavery. 

It  is  not  possible  to  leave  this  heart-rending  scene 
without  recalling  the  time  back,  a  few  years  pre- 
viously, when  the  waters  of  that  lake,  Genneserath, 
roused  into  a  storm  that  threatened  the  existence  of 
some  little  ships  proceeding  towards  the  shores  of 
Capernaum,  were  stilled  at  once  into  perfect  peace 
at  the  command  of  Jesus  ;  of  him  who  came  not  to 
destroy  men,  but  to  save ;  of  him  who  went  about 
through  all  those  coasts  performing  miracles  of  heal 
ing,  forewarning  the  impenitent  of  coming  woes,  and 
teaching  the  things  that  pertain  to  the  kingdom  of 


54  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

God.  Far  be  it  from  us  to  charge  upon  a  distant 
generation  the  offences  of  a  former  race ;  further  still 
the  feeling  that  could  rejoice  over  the  terrible  fulfil- 
ment of  what  was  spoken  even  in  the  hearing  of 
some  who  lived  to  fall  under  the  murderous  hand  of 
the  pagan  foe.  But  spoken  it  was  to  the  Galileans 
of  that  generation,  by  the  lip  of  Him  whom  they  re- 
jected, and  whose  heart  yearned  towards  them  in 
tender  compassion,  while  his  voice  declared  the  fear- 
ful future  that  awaited  them.  "And  thou,  Caper- 
naum, which  art  exalted  unto  heaven,  shak  be 
brought  down  to  hell :  for  if  the  mighty  works  which 
had  been  done  in  thee,  had  been  done  in  Sodom,  it 
would  have  remained  until  this  day.  But  I  say  unto 
you,  that  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  of 
Sodom  in  the  day  of  judgment  than  for  thee."  Then 
followed  the  word  of  invitation,  so  gentle,  so  gra- 
cious, so  pleadingly  tender !  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye 
that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you 
rest.  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me ; 
for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart ;  and  ye  shall  find 
rest  unto  your  souls.  For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my 
burden  is  light."  Alas,  alas,  Capernaum !  thou 
didst  despise  that  voice  of  warning,  disregard  that 
call,  thrust  from  thee  that  easy  yoke  of  love  and  low- 
liness, and  what  ensued  ?  Sodom  fell,  consumed  in 
a  moment  by  flaming  fire ;  her  children  saw  the 
flash,  and  shrieked,  and  perished.  But  her  fate  was 
tolerable,  was  enviable  to  thine.  O  that  thou  hadst 
listened  to  him  who  in  turn  would  have  heard  and 


EXTRAORDINARY   CONFLICT.  55 

saved  what  time  the  storm  fell  upon  thee,  unhappy 
Capernaum  ! 

The  Roman  vulture  having  gorged  himself  with 
blood  and  spoil,  next  polluted  with  his  presence  the 
village  of  Emmaus,  having  before  him  an  arduous 
feat  in  the  purposed  reduction  of  Gamala ;  a  place 
naturally  more  impregnable  than  Jotapata  had  been. 
So  exceedingly  abrupt  was  its  steep  acclivity,  that  the 
houses,  standing  very  thick  and  close  together,  ap- 
peared to  be  built  one  upon  another ;  rising  to  the  top 
of  the  mountain,  which,  where  not  quite  precipitous, 
was  very  strongly  defended  by  a  deep  oblique  ditch, 
mines,  and  a  wall.  An  immensely  steep  point  of  rock, 
rising  in  front  of,  and  above  the  houses,  formed  a 
natural  citadel  to  the  town  behind  it,  completing  the 
resemblance  of  a  camel's  back,  from  whence  the  city 
takes  its  name.  Here  Agrippa  had  wearied  himself 
by  a  seven  months'  siege,  without  producing  the 
slightest  effect  on  the  place ;  and  the  approach  of 
the  Romans  to  his  assistance  excited  no  other  alarm 
in  the  minds  of  the  garrison  than  such  as  arose  from 
the  diminution  of  their  provisions  and  water,  where 
supplies  would  be  rendered  unattainable.  Vespasiap 
immediately  commenced  his  bank,  and  brouglit  up 
three  battering  rams,  which  soon  overthrew  the  wall, 
and  allowed  the  soldiers  to  enter  the  city,  where  a 
dreadful  retribution  waited  some  yet  reeking  from 
the  murder  of  their  recent  victims.  The  vigorous 
resistance  encountered  below  from  the  Jews,  drove 
the  Romans  prematurely  and  in  disorder  to  the  up- 
per parts  of  the  town,  where  the  narrow,  intricate, 


56  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

almost  perpendicular  streets,  so  completely  embar 
rassed  them,  hemmed  in  as  they  were  by  men  fiercely 
fighting  in  defence  of  their  lives  and  liberties  at  the 
very  doors  of  their  own  homes,  that  they  had  no  way 
to  turn,  and  they  burst  into  the  houses  for  refuge. 
These,  unable  to  bear  the  sudden  weight  of  such  an 
armed  host,  gave  way ;  each  dwelling  fell  on  some 
other  below  it ;  and  the  scene,  unparalleled  perhaps 
in  history,  presented  a  frightful  mass  of  broken  walls, 
great  beams  of  timber,  stones,  heavy  furniture,  and 
men  imprisoned  in  their  own  ponderous  armour,  fall- 
ing headlong  together  in  one  tremendous  crash  of 
utter  destruction.  Then  were  the  Jewish  inhabi- 
tants to  be  seen  forcing  their  invaders  to  leap  upon 
the  tottering  dwellings  that  they  might  give  way 
and  bury  them,  perhaps  with  their  own  wives  and 
children,  for  whom  they  rightly  deemed  that  such  a 
fate  was  happiness  compared  with  its  alternative ; 
and  what  between  the  mighty  crash  that  ground  them 
into  powder,  the  falls  that  broke  their  limbs,  or  so 
entangled  as  to  tear  them  from  their  bodies,  and  the 
dust  that  killed  them  by  instantaneous  suffocation, 
the  Romans  suffered  more  on  the  mountain  steep  of 
Gamala  than  they  had  done  in  all  their  previous 
operations.  Added  to  these,  numbers  were  put  to 
death  by  the  inhabitants  as  they  lay  stunned  or  em- 
barrassed by  their  fall ;  not  only  darts,  but  stones, 
rafters,  and  all  the  wrreck  of  their  own  homesteads, 
furnished  weapons  of  destruction  to  the  vengeful 
garrison :  while  not  a  few  of  the  warriors,  stung  by 


GAMALA   TAKEN.  57 

such  unwonted  defeat,  stabbed  themselves  ere  an 
enemy  could  touch  them. 

In  the  midst  of  this  fearful  rout,  Vespasian  found 
himself  high  up  the  city,  and  in  most  imminent 
danger.  The  language  of  Josephus  in  describing 
his  proceeding  is  most  disgraceful  to  him,  a  Jew, 
who  had  just  witnessed  the  butchery  and  villainy  at 
Tiberias.  He  says  that  the  Roman,  "  calling  to  mind 
the  actions  that  he  had  done  from  his  youth,  and  rec- 
ollecting his  courage,  as  if  he  had  been  excited  by 
a  divine  fury"  made  a  stand,  and  ultimately  es- 
caped. He  also  records  the  death  of  one  Ebutius, 
with  the  high  commendation  of  having  in  his  time 
"  done  very  great  mischief  to  the  Jews."  He  re- 
cords too  the  speech  of  condolence  made  by  Ves- 
pasian to  his  discomfited  troops,  in  which  he  tells 
them,  that  "while  they  had  killed  so  many  ten 
thousands  of  the  Jews,  they  had  now  paid  their 
small  share  of  the  reckoning  to  Fate."  Encouraged 
by  his  oration,  the  diminished  host  prepared  to  renew 
their  attempts  against  the  former  breaches,  which 
were  gallantly  defended  by  the  little  garrison ;  and 
some  time  elapsed  before  the  Romans,  by  a  cautious 
stratagem,  and  having  nearly  starved  the  inhabi- 
tants, undermined  a  tower,  which,  eventually,  gave 
them  possession  of  the  city ;  yet  did  they  not  dare 
to  enter  it,  until  careful  observation  had  assured 
them  that  no  great  power  of  resistance  remained 
Then  Titus,  who  had  been  absent  on  another  ex 
pedition,  got  stealthily  in  with  a  chosen  body  of 
horse  and  foot,  and  proceeded  in  the  work  of  slaugh 


58 


JUDAEA    CAPTA. 


ter  :  but  they  were  disappointed  of  more  than  half 
their  recompense ;  for  they  could  only  butcher  four 
thousand  men.  women,  and  little  babes ;  the  latter 
of  whom  they  dashed  down  alive  from  the  citadel, 
to  break  their  tender  limbs,  and  prolong  their  dying 
agonies :  five  thousand  escaped  them ;  they  stood 
upon  the  edges  of  those  rocky  precipices,  men 
clasping  their  wives,  and  these  their  children  ;  a  fu- 
rious wind  was  blowing  at  the  time,  which  nearly 
bore  them  off  their  feet,  and  they  had  no  refuge  but 
the  tender  mercies  of  Rome.  Titus  approached: 
his  blood-hounds  were  panting  for  their  prey — they 
never  grasped  it.  Down,  down  from  that  giddy 
height  the  hunted  children  of  Israel  simultaneously 
cast  themselves,  and  found  a  general  tomb  in  the 
deeper  excavations  that  were  sunk  in  the  deep  val- 
ley below.  Two  women  only  were  left ;  they  con- 
cealed themselves  till  all  was  over,  and  then  found 
mercy  on  the  strength  of  near  relationship  to  a  fa- 
mous general  in  the  army  of  Agrippa,  the  royal 
slave-merchant. 

Gishala  alone  remained  to  be  reduced.  Here  the 
inhabitants,  like  those  of  Tarichsea,  were  desirous 
of  peace,  being  chiefly  husbandmen  unused  to  con- 
tention ;  but  another  party  existed,  aliens  and  lawless 
characters  under  the  same  John  who  afterwards  per- 
formed so  conspicuous  a  part  at  Jerusalem.  Titus 
summoned  them  to  surrender,  but  John,  desirous  of 
escaping,  pleaded  the  sacredness  of  the  sabbath,  and 
asked  a  truce  from  all  negotiations  till  the  morrow. 
This  Titus  granted ;  and  John  used  the  interval  to 


GISCHALA   SURRENDERS.  59 

accomplish  his  escape.  He  prevailed  on  a  number 
of  the  citizens  to  accompany  him,  with  a  multitude 
of  women  and  children  whom  he  cruelly  deserted  on 
the  road.  These,  of  course,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
those  who  went  in  pursuit :  six  thousand  of  the 
helpless  creatures  were  put  to  death,  and  half  that 
number  brought  back,  in  dreadful  captivity  to  the 
town.  Titus  is  represented  as  showing  great  leni- 
ency to  the  inhabitants,  who  came  out  to  meet  him 
most  submissively,  casting  on  John  all  the  blame  of 
the  deception  practised ;  and  it  does  not  appear 
that  any  extensive  massacre  was  perpetrated.  He 
had  a  higher  prize  in  immediate  prospect :  Jerusa- 
lem was  next  to  be  invested,  and  the  army  expresed 
great  impatience  to  march  upon  the  holy  city ;  but 
Vespasian,  hearing  from  deserters  how  great  were 
the  divisions,  and  how  bitter  the  internal  contests 
carried  on  there,  refused  to  advance,  deeming  it  ex- 
pedient to  allow  those  breaches  to  widen,  and  the 
mischief  to  proceed  as  far  as  possible,  before  they 
furnished  the  Jews  with  a  motive  of  union  by  at- 
tacking them.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  wily 
Roman  had  emissaries  in  the  city,  stirring  up  strife, 
and  directing  many  evil  works  that  appeared  to  be 
of  Jewish  origin  alone  :  and  Josephus  himself,  a  cap- 
tive, but  in  high  favour  and  confidence,  would  afford 
many  valuable  hints  for  his  patron's  guidance.  How 
far  his  patriotism  had  been  subdued,  we  may  gather 
from  the  complacency  with  which  he  details  events 
that  even  at  this  distance  of  time,  must  pierce  with 
anguish  the  heart  of  every  Jew  who  peruses  the 
6 


DU  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

tale  ;  how  far  his  feelings  had  been  paganized,  we 
may  also  discern  from  the  whole  tenor  of  Jiis  lan- 
guage, which  is  that  of  a  Roman,  not  an  Israelite. 
The  "  divine  fury"  that  he  ascribes  to  Vespasian 
could  not,  to  his  view,  be  as  the  heaven-born  cou- 
rage of  Gideon  or  David  ;  but  the  legitimate  inspi- 
ration of  Rome's  warlike  demon,  Mars.  Touches 
do  appear  of  natural  feeling,  but  they  are  very  few, 
and  very  far  between;  a  glimmer  among  the 
ashes  of  what  he  had  laboured  to  extinguish, 
and  where  scarcely  an  expiring  spark  yet  lingered. 
This  ought  to  be  borne  in  mind,  when  admitting 
as  unquestionable  the  accuracy  of  one  who  took 
part  in  the  events  that  he  narrates.  Every  eye-wit- 
ness is  not  a  true  witness  ;  neither  is  the  report  of  a 
faithless  deserter,  such  as  bore  tidings  to  the  Roman 
camp  of  what  occurred  within  the  walls  of  Jerusa- 
em,  above  suspicion.  This  we  know,  that  they 
were  days  of  vengeance  when  all  came  upon  the 
country  and  the  people,  which  the  prophets  had 
foretold ;  and  whatsoever  is  borne  out  by  the  word 
of  prophecy  that  we  are  bound  to  believe.  Beyond 
it,  we  have  no  sure  data  on  which  to  build,  save  in 
the  military  operations  and  public  events  that  were 
known  to  all  men.  Josephus  certainly  did  not  write 
for  the  Jews ;  but  for  the  Romans  he  certainly  did 
write,  and  through  their  favour  his  work  is  pre- 
served as  an  invaluable  record  of  what  but  for  it 
would  rest  on  a  still  more  questionable  foundation, 
wholly  destitute  of  the  local  and  national  features 
that  establish  its  general  accuracy  beyond  dispute. 


THE  PROPHETIC    BEAST.  61 

The  prefatory  matter  has  swelled  far  beyond  our 
purposed  limits ;  but  Jotopata,  Tarichese  and  Gam- 
ala  arrest  us  by  the  fearful  interest  of  their  melan- 
choly details ;  while  the  narrative  invests  with  grim 
and  glaring  life  the  prophetic  beast,  "which  was 
diverse  from  all  the  others,  exceeding  dreadful, 
whose  teeth  were  of  iron,  and  his  nails  of  brass ; 
which  devoured,  brake  in  pieces,  and  stamped  the 
residue  with  his  feet " 


JUD^A    CAPTA. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  fortified  places  of  Judsea  being  reduced,  and 
their  gallant  defenders  slaughtered,  or  with  their 
helpless  families  carried  into  slavery,  the  Roman 
army  pressed  on  their  general  the  desirableness  of 
proceeding  to  Jerusalem;  but  Vespasian  exhorted 
them  to  patience,  representing  that  their  work  was 
being  more  effectually  done  by  means  of  civil  dis- 
sension, commotion,  and  blood  within  the  city,  than 
it  could  be  by  their  immediate  advance.  John,  who 
had  escaped  from  Gischala,  was  at  the  head  of  a 
lawless  party  calling  themselves  zealots,  making 
havoc  of  the  more  peaceable,  and  committing  dread- 
ful acts,  not  only  in  Jerusalem,  but  by  occasional 
excursions  to  neighbouring  places ;  while  some  alien 
bands  who  had  possession  of  the  citadel  of  Masada, 
not  far  from  Jerusalem,  took  advantage  of  the  ab- 
sence of  the  male  population  at  the  feast  of  unleav- 
ened bread  to  fall  on  the  sarrounding  villages,  com- 
mitting dreadful  barbarities,  and  carrying  off  the 
spoil  to  their  fortress ;  insomuch  that  individuals 
frequently  made  their  appearance  in  the  Roman 
camp,  inviting  Vespasian  to  advance,  and,  by  com- 
pleting at  a  blow  the  work  of  desolation,  put  an  end 


MORE    MURDERS.  63 

to  this  slow  and  torturing  process.  To  this  he  seemed 
to  yield,  rather  than  to  the  wishes  of  his  army ;  and 
set  forward  on  his  sanguinary  expedition  in  the  char- 
acter of  a  deliverer  anxious  to  extend  the  protecting 
wing  of  the  Roman  Eagle  over  the  whole  nation. 
Gadara,  the  chief  city  of  Peraea,  surrendered  on  their 
approach;  the  more  hostile  party  having  taken  to 
flight,  on  finding  that  no  opposition  would  be  offered 
by  the  principal  citizens.  Vespasian  despatched  one 
of  his  commanders  in  pursuit  of  the  fugitives,  a  body 
of  whom  they  soon  overtook,  and  completely  sur- 
rounded, forming  with  their  mail-clad  ranks  an  un- 
broken, impervious  wall  of  iron,  against  which  the 
darts  of  the  Jews  were  hurled  in  vain.  These  stood 
at  bay,  and  fought  with  desperate  courage :  but  es- 
cape was  impossible  ;  and  there  like. — oh,  how  like  ! 
— "  a  wild  bull  in  a  net,"  they  struggled  and  fell, 
one  by  one,  beneath  the  practised  hands  of  the  ene- 
my, who  pierced  them  at  will  with  their  javelins,  or 
trampled  them  beneath  their  horses'  hoofs.  This 
took  place  near  a  village,  into  which  others  had  pre- 
viously fought  their  way  through  parties  of  the  Ro- 
man horse,  and  where  they  made  a  brave  but  inef- 
fectual defence.  The  enemy  broke  in  through  the 
slender  barriers,  where,  says  Josephus,  "  the  useless 
multitude  were  destroyed ;"  in  other  words,  the  aged, 
the  weak,  and  the  helpless  Jewish  women  and  babes 
had  their  throats  cut;  the  houses  were  plundered, 
the  village  was  burnt ;  and  then  the  fugitives,  aug- 
mented by  all  who  had  strength  to  flee,  were  hunted 
again  on  the  road  to  Jericho,  into  which  they  hoped 
6* 


64  JUD.EA    CAPTA. 

to  throw  themselves,  and  repulse  the  Romans.  But 
Placidas,  the  hostile  commander,  was  too  rapid  for 
them :  he  drove  them  to  the  side  of  Jordan,  then 
swelled  by  the  rains,  and  overflowing  its  banks,  and 
here,  after  an  unequal  battle,  he  completed  the  work 
?/  by  slaying  fifteen  thousand  with  the  sword,  selecting 
|  twelve  hundred  for  slavery,  and  compelling  the  rest 
to  leap  into  the  river,  over  which  their  fathers  passed 
dry-shod  when  the  ark  of  the  LORD  rested  in  mid 
channel.  But  HE,  the  God  of  Abraham,  was  now 
wroth  with  His  people ;  He  had  forsaken  His  inher- 
itance, and  given  them  over  as  a  prey  into  the  hands 
of  a  barbarous  foe.  We  will  here  cite  the  words  of 
that  unnatural  apostate,  Josephus,  who  thus  coolly 
details  the  nature  and  consequences  of  this  savage 
massacre,  perpetrated  on  his  own  brethren,  the  peo- 
ple of  Israel,  the  royal  tribe  of  Judah.  "  Now  this 
destruction  that  fell  upon  the  Jews,  as  it  was  not 
inferior  to  any  of  the  rest  in  itself,  so  did  it  still  ap- 
pear greater  than  it  really  was.  And  this  because 
not  only  the  whole  country  through  which  they  fled 
was  filled  with  slaughter,  and  Jordan  could  not  be 
passed  over  by  reason  of  the  dead  bodies  that  were 
in  it ;  but  because  the  lake  Asphaltites  was  also  full 
of  dead  bodies  that  were  carried  down  into  it  by  the 
river.  And  now  Placidas,  after  this  GOOD  SUCCESS 
that  he  had  had,  fell  violently  upon  the  smaller  cities 
and  villages ;  when  he  took  Abila,  and  Julias,  and 
Bezemoth,  and  all  those  that  lay  as  far  as  the  lake 
Asphaltites,  and  put  such  of  the  deserters  (i.  e.  trai- 
tors) into  them  as  he  thought  proper.  He  then  put 


THE  SPOILER'S  PROGRESS.  65 

his  followers  on  board  the  ships,  and  slew  such  as 
had  fled  to  the  lake." 

After  this,  Vespasian  himself  advanced  upon  Jer- 
icho, hoping  for  a  fresh  supply  of  blood  and  spoil ; 
but  though  he  laid  all  waste  in  the  way  thither, 
he  was  disappointed  at  the  last,  for  every  one  had 
fled,  and  Jericho  was  as  desolate  as  though  he  had 
already  swept  it  with  the  Roman  besom ;  and  now 
he  began  in  earnest  to  prepare  for  the  great  siege. 
He  took  Gerasae  at  a  blow,  slew  all  the  young  men 
who  had  not  escaped,  took  captive  all  the  families, 
gave  their  houses  to  be  plundered  by  his  troops, 
then  set  fire  to  the  place.  The  whole  surrounding 
country  being  thus  completely  laid  waste,  and  every 
remaining  building  garrisoned  by  his  soldiers  or 
mercenary  allies,  the  people  of  Jerusalem  had  no 
longer  the  power  of  making  excursions  from  the 
city  walls.  The  party  most  opposed  to  the  Roman 
invader  carefully  watched  such  as  were  suspected 
of  an  intention  to  desert ;  and  of  the  other  classes, 
none  of  course  ventured  to  explore  a  neighbour- 
hood wholly  subdued  and  overrun  by  the  hostile 
army. 

It  was  not,  however,  reserved  for  Vespasian  to 
conclude  in  person  the  fearful  achievement  hitherto 
so  successfully  prosecuted.  That  he  longed  to  add 
this  blood-stained  trophy  to  the  wreaths  which  he 
had  recently  won  on  the  shores  of  our  own  Eng- 
land, cannot  be  doubted.  It  was  the  Roman  fashion 
of  those  days  to  affect  contempt  the  most  supreme 
for  every  other  people  under  heaven;  and  com- 


66  JUDJEA    CAPTA. 

mensurate  with  the  gallantry  exhibited  by  an  enemy 
was  the  eagerness  of  those  barbarous  legions  to 
subdue  him.  Strong  confidence  in  their  own  in- 
vincible powers,  an  assured  belief  that  they  could 
not  be  conquered,  upheld  them  under  all  reverses, 
and  nerved  them  to  such  efforts  as  never  failed  to 
retrieve  a  temporary  loss  ;  this  urged  them  onward 
to  finish  the  protracted  campaign,  so  unexpectedly 
lengthened  out  by  the  desperate  intrepidity  of  a 
people,  who  like  themselves,  but  on  far,  far  higher 
grounds,  were  incapable  of  realizing  the  fact  of  being 
subdued  by  mortal  man.  To  the  importunities  of  his 
martial  followers  Vespasian,  having  so  far  forced  his 
way,  was  now  fully  disposed  to  accede ;  but  before 
the  needful  preparations  could  be  made,  events  took 
a  new  turn  at  Rome,  the  imperial  crown  itself  be- 
coming the  property  of  this  experienced  slaugh- 
terer ;  who,  of  course,  found  it  necessary  to  proceed 
with  all  haste  to  the  seat  of  universal  empire. 

The  act  of  sovereignty  recorded  by  Josephus  is 
one  that  we  must  carefully  bear  in  mind.  The 
Jewish  historian  had,  as  we  have  seen,  been  cap- 
tured at  Jotapata,  after  heading  the  garrison  of  that 
town  in  a  defence  as  gallant,  as  protracted,  and  as 
destructive  to  the  enemy  as  they  had  anywhere  en 
countered.  This,  in  the  eyes  of  the  barbarous  con 
querors,  merited  a  cruel  death,  or  at  least  perpetual 
slavery ;  but  Vespasian  and  Titus,  won  upon,  as  Jo- 
sephus tells  us,  by  his  inspired  prediction  of  their 
both  attaining  to  the  imperial  dignity,  spared  his 
life  5  and  not  only  so,  for  it  is  evident  that,  though 


JOSEPHUS   PROMOTED.  67 

outwardly  in  bonds,  he  accompanied  them  on  their 
march  of  blood  and  desolation  more  on  the  terms  of 
a  friend  than  of  a  captive.  Vespasian  now  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  high  good  humour  into  which  the 
army  was  thrown  by  his  acceptance  of  the  imperial 
diadem,  and  of  the  glowing  loyalty  that  all  were  ea- 
ger to  manifest  to  the  monarch  of  their  choice.  He 
set  Josephus  before  them,  rehearsed  his  gallant 
deeds,  his  sufferings,  and  above  all,  his  happy  pro- 
phecy, now  fulfilled  by  themselves ;  and  appealed  to 
them  whether  it  was  right  that  such  a  man  should 
still  wear  the  fetters  of  a  captive.  Of  course,  the 
answer  accorded  with  the  emperor's  wish ;  and  then 
Titus,  eager  to  put  all  possible  honour  upon  this  ex- 
traordinary Jew,  suggested  that  the  ceremony  of 
hacking  asunder  his  bonds  should  be  performed, 
which,  according  to  Roman  usage,  would  remove 
the  stigma  of  having  ever  worn  them.  This  also 
was  done  ;  and  Josephus  very  complacently  informs 
us  that  he  "  received  the  testimony  of  his  integrity 
for  a  reward;  and  was  moreover  esteemed  a, person 
of  credit  as  to  futurities  also."  He  was  regarded  as 
a  man  high  in  the  imperial  favour,  and  secure  of 
rising  by  means  of  that  effectual  helping  hand  that 
kings  can  give  their  creatures. 

At  this  distance  of  time,  with  no  contemporaneous 
testimony  to  throw  additional  light  on  what  he  has 
thought  proper  to  reveal,  we  cannot  undertake  to 
judge  the  Jewish  historian;  but  it  is  impossible  to 
avoid  remarking,  that  had  he  accompanied  Vespa- 
sian to  Rome,  his  fame  would  have  worn  a  brighter 


68  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

aspect,  his  conduct  have  admitted  of  a  more  favour- 
able interpretation,  than  either  can  bear  under  the 
circumstances  of  his  continuing  with  Titus,  to  aid 
and  abet  that  heathen  and  his  host  in  the  destruction 
of  the  Holy  City.  When  to  this  we  again  add  the 
fact  of  his  having  penned  his  history  under  the  eye 
of  this  imperial  pair,  father  and  son,  subject  to  the 
keen  remarks  of  those  who  had  destroyed  the  Lord's 
vineyard,  and  laid  waste  His  heritage;  when  we 
trace  in  it,  as  we  cannot  fail  to  do,  an  identification 
of  feeling  and  interests  with  those  whose  hands, 
whose  march,  the  very  streets  of  whose  haughty 
city,  were  still  reeking  with  the  warm  life  blood  of 
Judah,  we  cannot,  we  will  not  take  the  word  of  this 
recreant  and  apostate  Jew  for  any  particulars  calcu- 
lated to  blacken  the  darkness  of  Jerusalem  in  that 
day  of  her  unprecedented  anguish.  Desolate,  in 
captivity,  moving  to  and  fro  with  fettered  hands  and 
bleeding  feet,  and  a  scourge,  yea,  a  sword  ever  sus- 
pended over  their  lacerated  shoulders,  the  Jews 
could  not  sit  down  to  pen  a  refutation  of  what  their 
treacherous  brother,  clad  in  soft  clothing  and  feasted 
at  Csesar's  table,  securely  recorded  against  them. 
Away,  then,  with  his  testimony  in  all  that  concerns 
the  enormities  committed  within  the  city :  there  is  no 
warrant  in  the  prophetic  scriptures,  no  evidence  in 
credible  history,  no  analogy  in  nature  itself,  for  the 
atrocities  that  he  charges  upon  his  brethren.  Rome 
pagan,  no  less  than  Rome  papal,  needed  the  forging 
of  a  considerable  number  of  lying  accusations,  to 
palliate  in  some  degree  the  horrors  of  her  own  dia 


THE   CROWNING   SIN.  69 

bolical  barbarity  against  the  Jewish  people.  She 
found  a  hand,  expert  and  willing  in  the  work  of 
calumny;  she  made  the  most  of  it,  and  after  ages 
have  swallowed  with  unquestioning  gullibility  the 
whole  incredible  tale.  A  clearer  light  is  now  dawn- 
ing on  the  world ;  and  while  the  Lord  God  removes 
the  covering  from  all  nations,  and  the  vail  that  is 
cast  over  all  people,  He  also  begins  to  take  away 
the  reproach  of  His  own  peculiar  people  in  many 
particulars  where  a  false  reproach  has  hitherto  rested 
on  them  ;  and  soon  will  all  reproach,  by  His  pardon- 
ing mercy  and  redeeming  love,  be  removed  from  them 
for  ever. 

Yet  the  Jews  of  that  day  were  guilty,  exceedingly, 
fearfully  guilty ;  or  such  overwhelming  destruction 
could  not  have  fallen  on  them,  nor  would  the  Lord 
have  delivered  the  dearly-beloved  of  His  soul,  bound 
and  naked,  into  the  hands  of  her  ferocious  enemies. 
What  was  the  crowning  sin  of  the  nation  we  very 
well  know :  reading  by  the  light  of  man's  instruction 
the  words,  the  inspired  words  of  their  own  holy  pro- 
phets, they  had  overlooked  the  important  fact  of  a 
suffering  Saviour  dying  to  redeem,  and  fixed  their 
eyes  exclusively  on  the  more  distant  prospect  of  that 
glorious  Redeemer  coming  to  reign.  To  that  por- 
tion of  Isaiah's  prediction  which  speaks  of  him  as 
despised  and  rejected  of  men,  a  man  of  sorrows  and 
acquainted  with  grief,  smitten  and  afflicted ;  bruised 
for  their  sins,  wounded  for  their  transgressions, 
scourged  that  they  might  be  healed ;  led  as  a  sheep 
to  the  slaughter,  numbered  with  the  transgressors, 


70  JUD^A   CAPTA. 

entombed,  and  by  his  righteousness  justifying  them  ; 
to  this  they  closed  their  eyes,  and  opened  them  but 
to  behold  him  coming  from  Edom,  travelling  in  the 
greatness  of  his  strength,  and  in  the  blood  of  his 
and  their  enemies,  and  crowned  a  glorious  King. 

When  Daniel  forewarned  them  of  a  time  being 
set  "  to  finish  the  transgression,  and  to  make  an  end 
of  sins,  and  to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and 
to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  to  seal  up  the 
vision  and  prophecy,  and  to  anoint  the  most  Holy," 
at  which  time,  Messiah  should  be  cut  off,  but  not  for 
himself;  they  refused  to  ponder  the  solemn  message, 
and  fixed  their  whole  heart  on  the  equally  sure  word 
that  the  same  Messiah's  kingdom  should  subse- 
quently be  established  in  majesty  and  might  on  the 
ruins  of  the  long-continued  Gentile  usurpations. 
When  Zechariah  declared  that  for  thirty  pieces  of 
silver  the  Lord  should  be  bartered  among  them,  and 
that  they  should  look  on  Him  (the  context  proving 
a  divine  person)  whom  they  had  pierced,  and  mourn 
for  him  in  the  deepest  humiliation  of  contrite  sorrow, 
they  threw  it  aside  as  a  sealed  book,  laying  an  eager 
grasp  on  the  triumphant  sequel  where  Israel,  restored 
and  re-established  in  his  own  land,  with  every  an- 
cient privilege  confirmed  and  redoubled,  should  be- 
hold the  nations  of  the  earth  coming  yearly  to  Jeru- 
salem to  keep  with  them  the  feast  of  Tabernacles. 
In  like  manner,  what  God  hath  joined  in  the  Law 
the  Psalms,  and  the  Prophets,  an  atoning  Sacrifice 
and  a  reigning  Deliverer,  a  Prophet  whom  all  must 
hear  and  obey  on  pain  of  destruction,  a  PRIEST  upon 


WRATH   TO    THE   UTTERMOST.  71 

his  throne,  they,  alas !  misled  by  blind  guides,  put 
asunder,  and  so  filled  up  the  measure  of  the  sins  of 
many  generations.  Then,  wrath  came  upon  them 
to  the  uttermost ;  the  beauty  was  defaced,  the  glory 
departed,  and  Judah  was  cast  out  for  a  long,  long 
pilgrimage  of  suffering  and  sorrow  through  the  wil- 
derness of  cruel  nations,  whose  iniquitous  and  im- 
pious pleasure  it  has  been  to  help  forward  the  afflic- 
tion ;  daring  the  awful  retribution  that  must  follow 
from  that  unrevcked  assurance  given  to  Israel,  "  He 
that  toucheth  you,  toucheth  the  apple  of  his  eye." 

This  has  been  a  long  digression,  but  we  would 
fain  place  the  matter  in  its  true  light.  For  many 
generations,  and  in  many  ways,  Israel  had  pro- 
voked the  LORD  ;  and  the  fact  of  their  ultimately 
bringing  on  themselves  a  dispersion  so  long,  and 
sufferings  so  bitter,  as  we  know  them  to  have  un- 
dergone during  the  last  eighteen  centuries,  was  dis- 
tinctly revealed  to,  and  with  terrible  exactness  set 
forth  by  Moses,  in  the  books  of  Leviticus  and  Deu- 
teronomy. This  event  at  last  took  place,  under  the 
circumstances  now  referred  to,  and  the  menaced 
bolt  fell.  Josephus,  evidently  a  man  of  most  carnal 
mind  and  darkened  understanding,  takes  upon  him- 
self to  exalt  the  national  grandeur  and  prowess  of 
the  Jews,  in  order  to  exalt  still  higher  the  glory  of 
those  who  conquered  them :  he  obtained  from  the 
heathen  spoilers  the  loan  of  the  sacred  books,  the 
rolls  that  had  been  rent  from  the  temple  in  Jerusa- 
lem, and  from  them,  as  from  common  records,  he 
compiled  a  history  of  former  times.  Had  he  been 
7 


72  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

worthy  of  the  name  of  Jew,  he  would  have  buried 
those  holy  books  deep  in  the  earth,  and  shed  his 
life-blood  in  vindication  of  the  deed  that  rescued 
them  from  foul  profanation :  but  such  he  was  not ; 
and  we  only  note  the  circumstance  as  a  proof  of 
the  extinction  of  all  natural  feeling  in  his  breast; 
and  as  a  landmark  whereby  to  steer  through  his  ex- 
aggerated descriptions  of  what  he  certainly  did  not 
himself  see,  nor  could  he  know  it  but  from  the  re- 
port of  spies,  deserters,  and  other  traitors  continually 
coming  from  the  besieged  walls. 

That  fearful  scenes  were  enacted  there  no  one 
can  doubt:  that  the  city  was  divided,  rent  into 
factions,  and  every  division  wrought  up  to  madness 
by  the  secret  operation  of  suborned  emissaries  from 
the  enemy's  camp,  or  hired  agents  whose  instruc- 
tions were  thence  derived,  is  obvious.  In  any 
population  the  same  means  would  produce  similar 
effects;  and  assuredly  we  must  admit  the  awful 
fact  that  the  Lord,  their  own  Almighty  King,  "  was 
turned  to  be  their  enemy  and  fought  against  them,"* 
that  because  they  had  walked  contrary  to  Him,  He 
at  length  fulfilled  the  threat,  "  I  will  walk  contrary 
to  you  also  in  fury,  and  I,  even  I,  will  chastise  you 
seven  times  for  your  sins.  And  I  will  make  your  cit- 
ies waste,  and  bring  your  sanctuaries  into  desola- 
tion ;  and  I  will  not  smell  the  savour  of  your  swee\ 
odours.  And  I  will  bring  the  land  into  desolation 
and  your  enemies  which  dwell  therein  shall  be 
astonished  at  it.  And  I  will  scatter  you  among  the 

•  Isaiah  Ixiii.  10. 


DIVINE   THREATENINGS.  73 

heathen,  and  will  draw  out  a  sword  after  you ;  and 
your  land  shall  be  desolate,  and  your  cities  waste."* 
The  fulfilment  of  this  fruitful  prediction  to  the  very 
letter,  must  prepare  the  mind  to  receive  an  impres- 
sion fully  commensurate  with  the  prophetic  lament, 
that  "  under  the  whole  heaven  hath  not  been  done 
is  hath  been  done  upon  Jerusalem." 

So  far,  we  may,  each  for  himself,  picture  the 
mournful,  the  dreadful  state  of  the  devoted  city, 
divested  of  the  guardian  shield  that  had  so  long 
hung  over  it  The  angel  of  the  LORD  encamped 
no  more  about  her  palaces,  but  left  them  to  be  the 
spoiler's  prey.  The  Temple,  that  spot  most  holy 
upon  earth's  wide  surface,  in  the  eyes  of  a  Jew, 
was  no  longer  owned  by  Him  who  had  vouchsafed 
to  dwell  therein ;  and  in  a  furious  contest  of  rival 
parties,  Zacharius,  the  son  of  Barachius,  a  man  of 
peace,  and  of  the  consecrated  order,  was  slain  be- 
tween the  temple  and  the  altar, — a  signal  that  the 
righteous  blood  shed  from  the  beginning  thitherto 
was  about  to  come  upon  that  generation.!  Jerusa- 
lem could  not  have  fallen,  unless  the  great  majority 
of  her  inhabitants  had  forsaken  ana  provoked  the 
LORD  to  the  uttermost ;  because,  for  his  own  name's 
sake,  and  for  his  servant  David's  sake,  did  the  LORD 
defend  that  city  from  of  old.  Far  be  it  from  us, 
while  rejecting  the  malicious  details  of  Josephus,  to 
question  the  extent  of  prevailing  iniquity  there  !  It 
would  be  to  question  the  truth  of  the  Most  High,  to 
arraign  his  justice,  and  to  rebel  against  his  power 

*  L^vit.  xxvi.  9.  t  Matt,  xxiii.  35. 


74  JUD.EA    CAPTA. 

The  language  of  the  Jews,  in  their  synagogues  all 
over  the  world,  on  the  return  of  that  sorrowful  anni- 
versary, and  indeed  in  all  their  services,  would 
keenly  reprove  us;  for  words  cannot  express  a 
greater  depth  of  contrite  humiliation  than  they  are 
accustomed  to  declare,  on  the  subject  of  national 
provocation.  Terrible  in  his  long-delayed  ven- 
geance, still  the  God  of  Israel  was  just ;  and  even 
in  the  fierceness  of  his  wrath,  He  remembered 
mercy.  He  forgat  not  the  covenants  made  with 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob ;  but  stayed  the  rough 
wind  in  the  day  of  his  east  wind,  or  what  soul 
would  have  escaped  the  sanguinary  murderers 
without,  and  their  unprincipled  tools  within  the 
devoted  city?  How  would  Judah  have  survived 
and  continued,  and  multiplied,  and  spread  abroad 
to  the  east  and  to  the  west,  to  the  north  and  to  the 
south,  and  retained  within  himself  all  the  elements 
of  a  returning  greatness  and  glory,  as  it  is  at  this 
day?  We  proceed  to  the  scene  of  desolation,  ac- 
companying Titus  and  his  homicidal  band :  and 
with  them  desiring,  "  Let  our  eye  look  upon  Zion," 
but  oh !  with  what  a  different  sentiment  to  theirs  ! 
Yes,  we  must  go  over  the  heart-rending  details  of 
her  cruel  wreck ;  but  sweetly  prominent  to  our  eye 
is  still  the  assured  pledge. 

Again  I  will  build  thee, 
And  thou  shalr.  be  built,  O  Virgin  of  Israel : 
Thou  shalt  again  be  adorned  with  thy  tabrets, 
And  shalt  go  forth  in  the  dance  of  them  that  make  merry. 
Thou  shalt  yet  plant  vines  upon  the  mountains  of  Samaria : 


DIVINE   PROMISES.  75 

The  planters  shall  plant,  and  shall  eat  them  as  common  things. 

For  there  shall  be  a  day, 

That  the  watchmen  upon  the  Mount  Ephraim  shall  cry, 

Arise  ye,  and  let  us  go  up  to  Zion, 

Unto  the  LORD  our  God. 

For  thus  saith  the  Lord  5 
Sing  with  gladness  for  Jacob, 
And  shout  among  the  chief  of  the  nations  ; 
Publish  ye,  praise  ye,  and  say, 

0  Lord,  save  thy  people,  the  remnant  of  Israel. 
Behold,  I  will  bring  them  from  the  north  country, 
And  gather  them  from  the  coasts  of  the  earth, 
And  with  them  the  blind  and  the  lame, 

The  woman  with  child,  and  her  that  travaileth  with  child  together. 

A  great  company  shall  return  thither. 

They  shall  come  with  weeping, 

And  with  supplications  will  I  lead  them, 

1  will  cause  them  to  walk  by  the  rivers  of  waters, 
In  a  straight  way,  wherein  they  shall  not  stumble ; 
For  I  am  a  father  unto  Israel, 

And  Ephraim  is  my  first  born. 

Hear  the  word  of  the  LORD,  O  ye  nations, 
And  declare  it  in  the  isfes  afar  off,  and  say, 
He  that  scattered  Israel  will  gather  his  own, 
And  keep  him  as  a  shepherd  doth  his  flock, 
For  the  LORD  hath  redeemed  Jacob, 

And  ransomed  him  from  the  hand  of  him  that  was  stronger  than  he, 
Therefore  they  shall  come  and  sing  in  the  height  of  Zion, 
And  shall  flow  together  to  the  goodness  of  the  LORD, 
For  wheat,  and  for  wine,  and  for  oil, 
And  for  the  young  of  the  flock  and  of  the  herd  j 
And  their  soul  shall  be  as  a  watered  garden  5 
And  they  shall  not  sorrow  any  more  at  all, 
Then  shall  the  virgin  rejoice  in  the  dance, 
Both  young  men  and  old  together  : 
For  I  will  turn  their  mourning  into  joy, 

And  will  comfort  them,  and  make  them  rejoice  from  their  sorrow. 
And  1  will  satiate  the  soul  of  the  priests  with  fatness, 
And  my  people  shall  be  satisfied  with  my  goodness,  saith  the  LORD 

Jeremiah  xxxi.  4. 

7* 


76  JTJD&A   CAPTA. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FROM  Alexandria,  whence  Vespasian  set  forth  for 
Rome,  Titus  also  departed  to  lay  siege  to  Jerusalem. 
His  route  possesses  a  solemn  and  melancholy  inter- 
est; he  halted  at  Zoan,  where  God  of  old  did  mar- 
vellous things  for  Israel  against  their  first  oppres- 
sors. Having  crossed  the  Nile,  he  proceeded  over 
the  desert;  he  entered  Syria  at  Raphin.  making 
Gaza  his  next  station.  Ascalon,  Jamnia,  and  Joppa, 
in  turn  afforded  a  resting  place  to  the  Roman  de- 
stroyer ;  and  lastly,  he  came  to  Cesarea,  the  chosen 
rendezvous  of  all  his  forces ;  the  point  of  concentra- 
tion, from  which  the  collected  torrent  was  to  meet 
and  overflow  the  deserted  vineyard  of  the  Lord  of 
hosts. 

The  order  of  their  march  into  what  Josephus  is 
not  ashamed  to  call  "  the  enemtfs  country,"  was  as 
follows : — first  went  the  auxiliary  forces,  furnished 
by  surrounding  kings,  among  whom  Agrippa,  their 
former  ally,  mediator,  and  champion,  supplied  a  por- 
tion ;  and  with  these  were  a  mixed  multitude,  also 
calling  themselves  auxiliaries,  drawn  to  the  Roman 
standard  by  a  greedy  hope  of  sharing  the  spoil  of 
Zion.  The  pioneers  and  artificers  of  encampments 


THE   MARCH   INTO    JUDEA.  77 

followed,  and  after  them  the  commander's  baggage, 
with  its  wonted  guard.  Then  Titus,  with  his  picked 
supporters ;  the  pike-men  ;  the  cavalry  of  the  chosen 
legion ;  and  next  the  fatal  engines ;  the  tribunes, 
leaders  of  cohorts,  and  their  select  bodies.  The 
trumpeters  next  preceded  the  ensigns — the  ravening 
eagle,  the  abomination  of  desolation  that  should  pol- 
lute the  holy  place.  The  main  body,  in  ranks  six 
deep,  followed  their  standards ;  then  came  the  ser- 
vants and  the  general  baggage  of  the  army ;  and  last 
the  mercenaries,  with  their  appointed  guards,  who 
brought  up  the  rear.  Through  Samaria  they  pro- 
ce^ded  to  Gophna,  the  desolate  wreck  of  a  city  al- 
ready sacked  by  Vespasian ;  and  here  they  lay  for 
the  night.  The  next  day's  march  brought  them 
within  thirty  furlongs  of  Jerusalem ;  where,  in  a 
place  called  the  Valley  of  Thorns,  another  tempo- 
rary encampment  was  ordered,  with  the  expectation 
that  the  next  would  be  a  permanent  lodgment  under 
the  walls  which  the  proud  Assyrian  menaced  in  vain. 
Meantime  Titus,  assembling  six  hundred  of  his  cho- 
sen horsemen,  proceeded  to  reconnoitre  the  city ; 
curious  to  ascertain  both  the  extent  and  strength  of 
its  defences,  and  the  temper  of  its  inhabitants ; 
whether  they  were  made  of  like  metal  with  their 
brethren  of  Jotapata,  Gamala,  and  the  other  fortified 
towns,  eager  to  give  battle  and  nerved  to  a  desper- 
ate resistance ;  or  whether  they  were  so  exhausted 
by  internal  dissensions,  or  so  intimidated  by  the 
near  approach  of  his  immense  army,  as  to  exhibit 


78  JUD^A   CAPTA. 

tokens  of  a  speedy  submission.    His  doubts  were 
quickly  set  at  rest. 

It  was  on  the  north-western  side  of  the  city,  that 
all  assailants,  from  David  to  the  Roman  general,  had 
fixed  their  camps,  that  being,  indeed,  the  only  ac- 
cessible point.  Titus  had  approached  in  that  direc- 
tion, having  before  him  the  most  modern  suburb, 
Bezetha,  which  had  grown  up  gradually  from  the 
increase  of  population,  and  possessed  none  of  the 
natural  defences  enjoyed  by  the  other  parts  of  the 
city :  but  on  this  account  greater  pains  had  been 
taken  to  strengthen  the  walls,  incomplete  as  had 
been  left  the  execution  of  Agrippa's  perfect  design. 
There  was  a  strong  tower,  called  Psephinos,  flank- 
ing the  westward  wall,  at  an  angle,  nearly  parallel 
to  where  now  stands  the  Damascus  gate,  and  due 
west  of  it :  near  to  this  point.  Titus,  with  his  horse- 
men, had  been  allowed  to  advance,  on  the  road  lead- 
ing to  the  city,  without  the  appearance  of  an  indi- 
vidual to  intercept  or  oppose  him  ;  but  when,  encou- 
raged no  doubt  by  such  apparent  passiveness,  he 
altered  his  course,  and  swerved  obliquely  towards 
Psephinos,  followed  by  his  band,  a  sudden  and  most 
impetuous  sally  took  place,  not  from  any  gate,  but 
through  the  windows  of  some  neighbouring  towers, 
out  of  which  multitudes  of  armed  Jews  suddenly 
leaped,  casting  themselves  in  the  path  of  the  horse- 
men, so  that  those  who  had  not  yet  declined  from 
the  main  road,  were  intercepted  from  following  those 
who  had ;  while  Titus,  with  only  a  few  attendants, 
was  in  like  manner  cut  off  from  the  rest?  and  placed 


TITUS   ASSAILED.  79 

in  great  peril,  the  nature  of  the  ground  much  en- 
hancing it.  Trenches  had  been  dug  as  a  sort  of 
sunk  fence,  to  protect  the  gardens,  which  in  this 
quarter  extended  from  the  walls  to  some  distance ; 
those  deep  trenches  ran  out  obliquely,  intermingled 
with  strong  hedges,  together  forming  a  barrier  that 
forbade  his  further  advance;  return  to  his  men 
seemed  impossible,  for  a  dense  body  of  exasperated 
enemies  intervened;  and  the  Romans,  unconscious 
that  their  commander  was  thus  separated  from  them, 
remained  in  expectation  of  some  order  from  his  lips. 
Titus,  moreover,  was  not  armed  as  for  battle  ;  so  Jo- 
sephus  says,  who  declares  that  he  had  on  neither 
head-piece  nor  breast-plate ;  which,  if  true,  speaks 
little  for  his  military  tact  and  foresight,  considering 
the  nature  of  his  expedition  and  his  avowed  uncer- 
tainty as  to  the  hostile  purposes  of  the  besieged. 
The  Romanized  historian,  of  course,  gives  the 
greater  credit  to  his  patron,  for  the  intrepidity  with 
which  he  extricated  himself  from  this  alarming  di- 
lemma, referring  also  to  the  providential  care  of  God 
over  the  persons  of  kings.  He  represents  the  gen- 
eral as  cutting  his  way  through  his  assailants,  par- 
rying, with  his  sword  alone,  the  darts  that  were 
showered  on  him  from  every  side  ;  cutting  down 
some,  riding  over  others,  and  finally  escaping  with 
his  horsemen,  two  only  of  whom  were  slain  in  the 
combat.  This  encounter  encouraged  both  parties  ; 
the  one  being  elated  by  having  so  decidedly  put  the 
Roman  prince  to  flight,  the  other  by  his  having  so 


80  JTJD^EA    CAPTA. 

well  escaped  a  very  imminent  danger ;  which  was 
of  course  interpreted  as  a  happy  omen. 

Titus,  being  further  reinforced  by  a  legion  from 
Emmaus,  advanced  on  the  following  day,  with  his 
assembled  host,  to  the  hill,  or  rather  the  gently 
swelling  plain,  called  Scopus,  seven  furlongs  only 
distant  from  the  holy  city.  Here  they  proceeded, 
with  the  usual  grim  deliberation,  to  measure  out  the 
ground,  to  form  their  squares  and  streets,  and  to 
build  rather  than  to  pitch  their  substantial  tents; 
planting  in  the  midst  the  ominous  ensign  of  their 
sanguinary  sway.  Before  them,  and  clearly  seen 
above  the  walls  that  intervened  between  the  nu- 
merous towns,  rose  the  magnificent  Temple,  sheathed, 
as  it  were,  in  burnished  gold,  continually  provoking 
that  lust  of  plunder  which  formed  the  main-spring 
of  Roman  enterprize.  But  between  them  and  this 
splendid  prize  rose  the  formidable  bulwark  of  An- 
tonia,  guarding  with  its  massive  strength  the  north- 
west angle  of  the  outer  court,  whence  the  wall  that 
enclosed  Acra  branched  forth,  presenting  a  close 
array  of  towers  bristling  with  spears  and  darts,  and 
alive  with  countenances  on  which,  among  many 
deep  emotions,  one  universal  characteristic  was 
traceable — the  stern  resolve  to  die,  if  needful,  amid 
the  ruins  of  their  city,  but  never,  never  to  surrender 
it  into  the  hands  of  a  pagan  foe.  On  Scopus  two 
legions  were  encamped ;  another  was  stationed 
somewhat  further  in  the  rear,  that  they  might  fortify 
themselves  in  greater  security,  and  move  at  leisure 
under  cover  of  the  near  camp.  A  third  body,  the 


THE    TENTH   LEGION    ROUTED.  81 

tenth  Roman  legion,  were  directed  to  form  their 
encampment  six  furlongs  from  Jerusalem,  on  the  de- 
scent of  the  Mount  of  Olives. 

And  now  behold  the  city  indeed  hemmed  in  by 
her  enemies,  encompassed  with  armies.  Josephus, 
whom  we  are  constrained  to  quote,  says  that  when 
"the  seditious"  saw  these  several  Roman  camps 
suddenly  pitched  around  them,  "they  began  to 
think  of  an  awkward  sort  of  concord,"  and  decided 
on  an  immediate  sally.  With  them,  to  resolve  was  to 
do.  The  Romans  were  scattered  about  in  small 
parties,  methodically  pursuing  their  famous  camp 
architecture,  taking  it  for  granted  that  no  one  would 
attempt  so  premature  an  interruption  of  the  goodly 
work,  and  persuaded,  moreover,  that  the  Jews,  be- 
sides the  intimidation  that  their  advance  must 
strike  into  them,  were  too  completely  disunited,  too 
hotly  engaged  in  civil  warfare,  to  plan  any  offen- 
sive operation.  Suddenly,  however,  a  tremendous 
gush,  a  torrent  of  armed  men,  was  seen  sweeping 
down  the  declivity  from  the  city  wall,  and  with  a. 
tremendous  shout  ascending  the  opposite  hill,  they 
threw  themselves  upon  the  astonished  Romans,  who, 
half  armed,  and  wholly  unprepared,  sought  safety  in 
flight;  some  retreating  at  their  utmost  speed  from 
the  spot,  others  flying  to  the  place  where  their  weap- 
ons were  deposited,  but  both  hotly  pursued.  Few 
of  the  latter  lived  to  gird  those  weapons  on ;  and 
of  the  former,  on  ground  so  new  to  them,  so  perfectly 
familiar  to  their  assailants,  great  numbers  fell  be- 
neath the  fiery  tread  of  their  pursuers.  When  the 


82  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

Romans  rallied,  and  formed  a  front,  they  were  pres- 
ently thrown  into  confusion  by  the  irregular  onset 
of  the  Jews,  who,  neither  knowing  nor  caring  aught 
about  the  disciplined  regularity  of  warfare  to  which 
the  others  were  accustomed,  fell  upon  them  as  did 
Samuel  their  prophet  upon  Agag,  intent  only  to 
hew  them  in  pieces.  Encouraged  and  inflamed  by 
the  spectacle  of  their  brethren's  success,  the  Jews  con- 
tinued to  pour  forth  in  great  numbers,  principally  at 
the  point  where  the  vallies  of  the  Kidron  and  of  Hin- 
nom  meet  at  the  south-eastern  point  of  the  city,  the 
foot  of  Ophel ;  and,  after  several  ineffectual  attempts 
to  stem  the  torrent  and  to  turn  the  battle,  the  Romans 
were  put  to  shameful  flight,  abandoning  their  camp, 
and  being  themselves  in  manifest  danger  of  extermi- 
nation. Tidings  had,  however,  been  brought  to  Ti- 
tus of  the  jeopardy  in  which  the  tenth  legion  were 
placed,  and  he  immediately  advanced  with  sufficient 
reinforcements,  rallied  the  fugitives,  reproached  them 
with  cowardice,  and  made  a  fierce  attack  upon  the 
Jews  with  the  fresh  troops — horsemen,  no  doubt — 
that  he  had  brought  up  to  the  rescue.  Having 
turned  their  flank,  he  pursued  his  advantage,  com- 
pelling them  to  retreat  towards  the  valley,  in  which 
they  suffered  great  loss  from  the  enemy  in  their 
ponderous  armour  crushing  down  upon  them  from 
the  steep ;  but  the  remainder  having  gained  once 
more  the  opposite  asoent,  turned  upon  the  pursuers, 
and  under  their  beloved  walls  sustained  for  hours  a 
battle  with  the  Romans,  who  showered  darts  and 
lances  upon  them  from  the  opposite  bank.  Titus 


EXPLOITS    OF   THE   JEWS.  83 

seeing  that  nothing  was  to  be  gained,  stationed  his 
fresh  cohort  to  watch  against  any  future  sally  from 
that  point,  and  ordered  the  routed  legion  to  a  higher 
part  of  the  mountain,  there  to  pitch  and  to  fortify 
their  camp. 

But  vain  were  the  general's  precautions,  and 
equally  vain  his  hope  of  overawing  the  children  of 
Israel.  No  sooner  were  the  soldiers  seen,  as  in  full 
retreat  up  the  mountain,  than  a  Jewish  watchman, 
stationed  on  the  wall,  exultingly  shook  his  garment ; 
and  upon  that  signal  out  rushed  a  fresh  multitude 
of  the  besieged,  with  such  mighty  violence,  says  Jo- 
sephus,  "  that  one  might  compare  it  to  the  running 
of  the  most  terrible  wild  beasts."  Such  were  not 
the  comparisons  chosen  of  old  to  describe  the  irre- 
sistible prowess  of  Judah,  when  "  kings  with  their 
armies  did  flee"  before  him ;  but  Josephus,  as  a  pa- 
gan, wrote  for  pagans,  so  let  his  language  go  for 
what  it  was  worth  in  the  sight  of  his  new  masters. 
He  proceeds,  "  To  say  the  truth,  none  of  those  that 
opposed  them  could  sustain  the  fury  of  their  attacks ; 
but,  as  if  they  were  cast  out  of  an  engine,  they  brake 
the  enemies'  ranks  to  pieces,  who  were  put  to  flight, 
and  ran  away  to  the  mountain."  And  who  were 
these  runaways  ?  Even  the  doughtiest  warriors, 
the  picked  cohort  of  an  invincible  Roman  army ! 
Titus  had  just  before  selected  them  from  the  flower 
of  his  host,  to  rescue  the  routed  legion :  and  having 
done  this,  he  had  posted  them  on  the  edge  of  the 
valley  to  prevent  any  further  egress  from  the  walls 
However,  the  Jews  broke  out,  and  they  "  ran  away 
8 


84  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

up  the  mountain,"  Titus  himself,  whose  personal 
courage  was  unquestionable,  with  a  few  of  his  imme- 
diate attendants,  being  left  alone  halfway  up  the  steep, 
and  finding  it  no  easy  matter  to  resist  the  importu- 
nities of  his  friends,  who  urged  him  also  to  flee.  It 
appears  that  he  nevertheless  made  a  gallant  stand, 
and  not  only  maintained  but  improved  his  position. 
The  hand  of  God  was  certainly  over  him  ;  for  he,  like 
Pharaoh  of  old,  was  ordained  unconsciously  to  fulfil  the 
decrees  of  the  Most  High,  and  the  work  allotted  to 
him  he  must  accomplish.  The  utmost  confusion 
prevailed  among  the  routed  legion  ;  they  concluded 
that  Titus  also  had  saved  himself  by  flight,  and 
nothing  could  be  more  complete  than  their  disgrace- 
ful dispersion,  when,  peeping  from  the  brow  of  the  hill, 
where  the  thick  olives  afforded  them  some  shelter, 
they  descried  their  general  engaged,  almost  single- 
handed,  in  desperate  combat  with  the  victorious  Jews. 
This  roused  them  at  once ;  and  loudly  proclaiming  to 
their  scattered  comrades  the  commander's  peril,  all 
rushed  down  to  rescue  him,  reproaching  arid  urging 
one  another  on,  until  the  force  of  such  a  combined 
onset  from  many  different  points  of  higher  ground, 
overpowered  the  Jews,  turned  them,  and  drove  them 
into  the  depth  of  the  valley,  after  a  most  deter- 
mined resistance ;  for  they  faced  about  again,  and 
fought  their  way,  evidently  in  good  order,  until  they 
gained  once  more  the  bulwarks  of  their  city. 

Josephus  has  no  word  of  commendation  to  bestow 
upon  the  courageous  Jews ;  but  the  praise  that  he 
gives  his  patron  implies  no  slight  testimony  to  their 


TITUS    RESCUES   THE    LEGION.  85 

prowess  and  exploits.  After  stating  that  Titus,  hav- 
ing made  all  as  safe  as  he  could,  sent  the  legion 
again  to  fortify  their  camp,  he  thus  concludes  the 
chapter :  "  Insomush,  that  if  I  may  be  allowed  nei- 
ther to  add  anything  out  of  flattery,  nor  to  diminish 
anything  out  of  envy,  but  to  speak  the  plain  truth, 
Caesar  did  twice  deliver  that  entire  legion  when  it 
was  in  jeopardy,  and  gave  them  a  quiet  opportunity 
of  fortifying  their  camp."  Titus  has  had  his  eulo- 
gists, and  Josephus  his  followers,  in  every  age ;  but 
we  question  whether,  during  eighteen  centuries,  one 
hand  has  been  found  to  seize  the  historic  pen  with 
a  simple  purpose  of  doing  impartial  justice  to  the 
calumniated  Jews. 

The  principal  camp,  as  it  has  been  stated,  was 
pitched  on  Scopus,  a  fine  expansive,  slightly-ele- 
vated ground,  northward  of  the  holy  city.  Titus 
now  resolved  to  approach  still  nearer  to  the  walls, 
and  with  that  view  he  commenced  operations,  suffi- 
ciently disheartening  to  those  within.  He  first 
caused  every  irregularity  of  ground  between  the 
present  site  of  his  camp  and  Bezetha  to  be  levelled, 
paring  down  the  little  eminences,  and  making  all 
perfectly  flat.  In  this  work  the  whole  army  was  en- 
gaged, with  the  exception  of  a  picked  and  powerful 
body,  whom  he  stationed  to  watch  against  and  to 
oppose  any  attempted  sally.  Now  were  all  the  little 
gardens,  so  carefully  cherished  by  their  owners,  whos,e 
inheritance  they  were,  even  as  was  the  vineyard  of 
Naboth  his  own,  dug  up  and  utterly  destroyed 
Every  landmark  was  removed,  every  hedge  mown 


86  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

down,  every  trench  filled;  and  where  groves  of 
odoriferous  trees  had  spread  a  cooling  shade,  where 
branches  had  bent  under  their  loads  of  ripening 
fruit,  the  orange,  the  vine,  the  pomegranate,  and 
the  fig,  where  flowers  of  surpassing  beauty  had 
brightened  the  green  sod,  and  fountains  played  for 
the  refreshment  of  each  lovely  scene,  nothing  now 
remained  but  a  naked,  uptorn  plain,  a  dreary  level 
trampled  into  stone  by  the  ceaseless  tread  of  armed 
men.  Even  the  rocky  projections  and  acclivities 
that  diversified  the  beauteous  landscape  were  de- 
molished with  iron  instruments,  and  their  fragments 
used  to  fill  the  chasms  of  a  rent  soil  or  carried  be- 
yond the  boundaries.  This  piteous  work  of  desola- 
tion is  briefly  described  by  Josephus,  without  one 
touch  of  natural  feeling  such  as  one  must  suppose 
could  not  but  wring  the  bosom  of  the  most  callous 
Jew.  This  took  place  during  the  days  of  unleav- 
ened bread,  when  some  new  dissensions  appear  to 
have  broken  out  in  the  city,  and  rendered  the  Tem- 
ple once  more  a  scene  of  strife,  which  ended  in 
the  reduction  of  three  contending  parties  into  two : 
but,  howsoever  engaged  among  themselves,  the 
Jews  found  time  to  concert  a  stratagem  against 
the  besiegers. 

A  certain  number  of  courageous  men  suddenly 
left  the  city,  as  though  they  had  been  forcibly  thrust 
out  by  their  companions,  and  stole  about  the  neigh- 
bourhood, with  every  appearance  of  being  in  great 
fear,  lest  they  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Ro- 
mans ;  and  also  of  distrusting  one  another.  At  the 


JEWISH   STRATAGEM.  87 

same  time  those  who  were  supposed  to  have  ejected 
them,  stood  forward  on  the  walls,  loudly  crying  for 
peace,  and  claiming  protection  with  security  for  their 
lives,  in  which  condition  they  offered  to  open  their 
gates  to  the  enemy.  In  farther  confirmation  of  this, 
they  threw  stones  at  such  of  the  seemingly  expelled 
party  as  were  wandering  beneath  the  walls  :  who  in 
return  petitioned  to  be  taken  back,  and  exhibited 
such  extraordinary  disorder  of  feeling,  and  uncer- 
tainty of  purpose,  as  completely  to  deceive  the  Ro- 
mans, though  Josephus  says,  that  Titus  suspected  a 
stratagem ;  because  when  he  had,  by  means  of  Jo- 
sephus himself,  endeavoured  on  the  preceding  day 
to  persuade  them  to  capitulate,  he,  or  rather  per- 
haps his  agent,  could  not  even  obtain  a  civil  answer. 
Probably  the  recollection  of  Jotapata,  combined  with 
its  intrepid  defender's  present  state  of  defection  from 
the  cause  of  Israel,  rendered  his  mission  more  odious 
to  the  Jews  than  they  could  endure  to  contemplate, 
or  even  to  repel  with  a  semblance  of  courtesy. 
Titus,  accordingly,  commanded  the  soldiers  to  stay 
where  they  were ;  but  they,  eager  for  plunder,  dis- 
regarded him,  and  many  of  them  ran  towards  the 
gates,  expecting  them  to  be  thrown  open.  The  ex- 
cluded party  also  hastily  retired.  Two  towers  flanked 
the  gate,  projecting  considerably  outwards;  and 
when  the  credulous  Romans  had  become  wedged 
between  these  towers,  the  Jews  at  once  ran  out,  sur- 
rounded and  attacked  them  in  the  rear,  while  darts 
and  missiles  of  every  kind  assailed  them  from  above. 
Many  of  the  soldiers  were  slain  in  this  way,  and 
8* 


88  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

such  as  escaped  were  pursued  by  the  Jews  to  the 
farthest  limit  to  which  they  could  follow  them  with- 
out falling  in  with  the  main  army.  Thus  expatiates 
the  worthy  Josephus :  "  After  this,  these  Jews  grew 
insolent  upon  their  good  fortune  ;"  and  then  he  gives 
a  speech  of  Titus,  addressed  to  the  offending  troops, 
which  is  strangely  at  variance  with  his  own  account 
of  the  disunion,  mutual  hatred,  violence,  and  self- 
slaughtering  infatuation  that  reigned  among  his 
brethren  within  the  holy  city.  Titus  said,  "  These 
Jews,  which  are  only  conducted  by  their  madness, 
do  everything  with  care  and  circumspection:  they 
contrive  stratagems,  and  lay  ambushes  ;  and  fortune 
gives  success  to  their  stratagems,  because  they  are 
obedient,  and  preserve  their  good-will  and  fidelity  one 
to  another"  He  then  menaced  with  death  the 
offenders  who  had,  by  acting  so  unlike  the  cautious, 
obedient,  and  united  Jews,  brought  this  loss  and  dis- 
grace on  the  Roman  army.  However,  their  com- 
rades all  interceded  for  them,  and  they  were  par- 
doned ;  and  the  general  set  himself  to  prosecute  the 
war.  Four  days  had  sufficed  to  obliterate  every 
trace  of  cultivation,  and  to  transform  the  diversified 
suburb  into  a  monotonous  level  on  the  north,  north- 
west, and  partly  on  the  western  side  of  the  city ;  and 
now  he  advanced  his  force  closer  to  the  walls,  accu- 
mulating its  greatest  strength  on  the  north :  while 
on  the  west  he  placed  his  foot  soldiers,  seven  deep, 
with  three  ranks  of  horsemen  behind  them ;  the 
archers,  also,  seven  in  depth,  occupying  the  interme- 
diate space.  So  formidable  an  array  precluded  the 


THE    SANCTUARY.  89 

possibility  of  further  sallies  from  the  Jews  in  that 
quarter:  and  under  its  cover,  the  beasts,  the  lug- 
gage, and  the  mercenary,  disorganized  multitude  of 
followers,  were  enabled  to  take  up  the  ground  as- 
signed to  them.  Titus  himself  was  stationed  over 
against  Psephinos  ;  the  second  division  had  its  head- 
quarters near  Hippicus ;  and  the  tenth  legion  had 
completed  their  fortifications  on  the  Mount  of  Olives. 
Alas  for  the  city  of  David !  for  the  holy  place  of 
the  Tabernacle  of  the  Most  High  !  The  heart  of  a 
Gentile  fails,  and  her  hand  trembles  while  pursuing 
the  mournful  tale.  Already  we  behold  the  deadly 
snare  drawn  close  and  strong  round  the  victim :  Je- 
rusalem is  a  besieged  city,  a  lodge  in  a  garden  of 
cucumbers.  Her  sons  are  as  a  wild  bull  in  a  net, 
foaming  in  vain  within  its  entangling  meshes :  her 
daughters  lament  for  the  past,  shrink  for  the  present, 
and  see  no  rescue,  no  refuge,  no  escape  from  the 
terrible  future.  Can  this  be  Zion,  "beautiful  for 
situation,  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth  ?"  Is  this  the 
place  of  which  the  Eternal  said,  "  Here  will  I  dwell, 
for  I  have  a  delight  therein  ?"  Yes,  blessed  for  ever 
be  his  holy  name  !  there  He  dwelt,  and  there  He 
will  dwell  again,  in  a  glory  and  a  majesty  that  shall 
lighten  the  whole  earth ;  there  will  He  yet  beautify 
his  sanctuary,  and  make  the  place  of  his  feet  glo 
rious. 


90  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

IN  following  the  operations  of  the  besieging  army, 
it  may  be  necessary  again  to  advert  to  the  position 
of  the  three  walls  that  formed  the  bulwarks  of  the 
Holy  City.  The  first,  or  old  wall,  was  the  strong- 
est, having  been  traced  oat  by  David,  after  whom 
Solomon  and  all  the  kings  of  Judah  successively  la- 
boured to  strengthen  it.  Commencing  at  the  south- 
western corner  of  the  Temple's  outer  court,  it  sepa- 
rated Zion  from  Acra  by  a  line  nearly  straight, 
crossing  the  interior  from  east  to  west  with  a  slight 
northward  curve,  and  comprising  within  this  space 
the  strong  towers  of  Mariamne,  Pharsalus,  and  Hip- 
picus.  Thence  it  swept  southward  round  the  whole 
hill  of  Zion,  around  the  ridge  of  the  valley  of  Hin- 
nom,  turned  at  the  corner  of  Ophel,  and  terminated 
at  the  south-western  angle  of  the  Temple  walls. 
This  was,  to  all  appearance,  so  impregnable  a  bar- 
rier, that  the  confidence  of  the  Jews  in  it  was  un- 
bounded. The  stones  were  of  enormous  size  ;  some 
of  the  lower  portion  of  the  tower  of  Hippicus  now 
remaining,  and  which  there  is  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve formed  a  part  of  the  original  fort  built  by 
Herod,  measure  externally  from  nine  to  twelve  feet 


THE    CITY    WALLS.  91 

each.  The  tower  itseif  is  square,  seventy  feet  by 
fifty-six,  and  this  too  is  a  piece  of  solid  masonry,  no 
vacuity  being  discoverable  as  far  as  these  great 
stones  extend;  which  confirms  the  assertion  of  Jo- 
sephus,  that  it  was  solid  stonework  to  the  height  -jf 
thirty  cubits,  over  which  was  a  reservoir  of  water, 
then  two  stories  of  apartments,  with  battlements  anc 
turrets.  Of  the  other  two  forts  nothing  now  remains, 
save  the  mass  of  ruins  that  assist  to  block  up  the 
pass  below,  and  to  reduce  almost  to  a  level  the  sur- 
face of  the  city,  "  builded  upon  her  own  heap" — upon 
the  crumbled  wrecks-  of  her  ancient  strength  and 
magnificence. 

The  old,  or  first  wall,  having  terminated  at  the 
south-eastern  angle  of  the  boundary  that  enclosed 
the  Temple,  the  third,  or  Agrippa's,  commenced  to 
the  northward  of  it,  thus  forming  a  continuous  bar- 
rier along  the  steep  acclivity  that  overlooked  the 
valley  of  the  Kedron ;  and  then  enclosing  Bezetha 
as  the  other  encircled  Zion,  it  formed  a  jutting  an- 
gle at  the  north-west  points  of  the  city  at  the  tower 
of  Psephinos,  where  Titus  had  been  so  roughly  as- 
sailed, whence  it  took  its  course  back  to  Hippicus. 
The  second,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  an  internal 
barrier,  extending  from  an  ancient  gate,  the  site  of 
which  is  now  unknown,  but  not  far  from  Hippicus, 
and  terminating  at  Fort  Antonia,  the  great  citadel  of 
Jerusalem. 

The  main  strength  of  the  city  walls  was  in  their 
towers,  each  of  which,  in  addition  to  their  immense 
solidity  below,  furnished  accommodation  to  a  large 


92  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

defensive  body  above,  supplying  them  also  with 
water,  and  being  each  separately  defensible.  Of 
such  warlike  towers,  the  old  wall  had  sixty,  the  sec- 
ond had  forty,  and  Agrippa's,  or  the  third  wall,  had 
ninety.  The  beauty  of  these  bulwarks  was  no  less 
remarkable  than  their  size  and  strength.  They 
were  built  of  white  stone,  hewn  from  the  rock  in 
blocks  of  enormous  size,  and  so  exactly  fitted  one 
upon  another  as  to  present  the  appearance  rather  of 
an  unbroken  mass  of  marble  than  that  of  ordinary 
architecture.  They  rose  to  a  great  height  above 
the  walls,  and  these  again  being  built,  on  three  sides, 
upon  the  edge  of  a  deep  precipice,  looked  still  loftier 
than  they  really  were. 

The  king's  palace,  and  other  buildings,  Josephus 
describes  in  such  terms  as  to  stagger  the  credulity 
of  modern  readers :  they  can  unhesitatingly  receive, 
and  complacently  swallow  his  most  exaggerated 
statements  of  impossible  enormities  committed  by 
the  inhabitants  against  each  other ;  but  when  he 
comes  to  set  forth  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  Jeru- 
salem itself,  with  which  both  he  and  those  for  whom 
he  wrote  were  intimately  acquainted,  men  become 
cautious,  they  examine  and  reject  his  testimony.  We 
will  not  reverse,  though  we  depart  from  the  received 
plan :  we  will  not  perpetuate  the  latter  while  dis- 
carding the  former  branch  of  his  statements. 
Enough  for  us  that  all  the  ancient  glory  of  Jerusa- 
lem shall  wax  dim  and  be  forgotten  before  the  sur- 
passing magnificence  of  her  latter  day  brightness 
enough  that  her  sons,  scattered  and  peeled,  meted 


MOUNT   MORIAH.  93 

out,  trodden  down,  oppressed  and  maligned  as  even 
yet  they  are,  shall  soon  repossess  their  city,  repeople 
their  land ;  for  shame  have  double,  and  for  confu- 
sion rejoice  in  their  glorious  portion. 

We  must  now,  so  far  as  is  needful  for  the  correct 
understanding  of  the  heart-rending  sequel,  enter 
upon  a  description  of  the  Temple.  We  shall  follow 
Josephus,  because,  recreant  as  he  was,  we  think  he 
dared  not  have  falsified  on  that  subject.  He  could 
have  no  motives  so  to  do ;  and  the  familiar  acquaint- 
ance of  his  Roman  contemporaries  with  the  spot 
must  have  served  in  some  measure  as  a  check  on 
him.  Recent  discoveries  have  verified  several  of 
his  most  suspected  statements,  as  to  the  size  of  the 
stones,  the  beauty  of  the  masonry,  and  the  exqui- 
site character  of  the  workmanship  employed  in  va- 
rious architectural  departments.  Some  excavations, 
undertaken  for  a  different  purpose,  have  brought  to 
light  these  things,  buried  beneath  the  desolations  of 
many  generations ;  and  the  time  is  not  far  distant 
when  the  labours  of  Jewish  restorers  will  make  man- 
ifest the  extent  of  that  wreck  committed  by  Gentile 
destroyers. 

Mount  Moriah,  "  the  mountain  of  the  LORD'S 
house,"  was  originally  not  only  a  steep  but  a  very 
uneven  hill,  too  narrow  and  too  irregular  on  its  sum- 
mit for  the  extent  of  ground  subsequently  occupied 
by  the  Temple  and  its  consecrated  boundaries.  To 
the  south  it  descended  with  an  abrupt  sweep,  run- 
ning parallel  with  the  southern  slope  of  Zion ;  but 
eastward  the  rock  was  precipitous,  forming  a  deep 


94  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

ravine,  the  bed  of  the  river  Kedron.  Great  labour 
was  expended  in  raising  embankments,  filling  up 
the  narrow  valley  to  the  west,  and  extending  into  a 
plain  the  limited  area ;  northward,  the  natural  dif- 
ficulties do  not  appear  to  have  been  great.  An  ex- 
traordinary fact  has  been  ascertained  within  the 
past  few  years,  namely,  that  the  holiest  part  of  the 
Temple  occupied  a  small  natural  elevation  on  the 
unhewn  rock,  which  at  this  moment  exists,  an  ob- 
ject of  mysterious  veneration,  in  the  innermost  re- 
cesses of  the  mosque  of  Omar.  Had  a  circum- 
stance like  this  been  stated  in  any  ancient,  unin- 
spired author,  and  could  it  now  have  been  cited  in 
the  face  of  such  alterations  and  transformations  as 
the  hands  of  nominal  Christianity  would  have  wrought 
on  that  consecrated  spot,  we  should  have  been 
taught  to  laugh  at  the  improbable  fiction;  but  until 
the  Caliph  Omar  made  choice  of  that  site  for  his 
mosque,  the  impious  rage  of  a  debased  sect  of  nom- 
inal Christians  against  everything  pertaining  to 
the  religion  of  Moses  prevailed  to  heap  the  area  of 
the  Temple  with  the  filth  of  their  habitations  and  of 
the  whole  city.  Thus  concealed  during  the  first 
epoch  by  the  profane  indignities  of  one  supersti- 
tion, (the  Greek,)  and  jealously  guarded  throughout 
another  by  the  mistaken  piety  of  an  antagonist  su- 
perstition, (the  Moslem,)  we  find  the  ground,  the 
very  ground  as  it  once  upbore  the  house  where  the 
presence  of  the  Most  High  vouchsafed  to  dwell  in 
visible  glory,  and  subsequently  to  walk  and  to  teach 
in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  that  ground  in  its 


THE   TEMPLE    COURTS.  95 

original  state  remains  for  the  seed  of  Jacob  to  iden- 
tify, and  to  consecrate  anew,  in  a  more  acceptable 
form  than  they  were  of  old,  to  the  LORD  of  hosts, 
the  Eternal,  their  King. 

Of  those  great  buildings  that  were  wrecked  by 
the  ruthless  spoiler,  not  leaving  one  stone  upon  an- 
other that  was  not  cast  down,  we  are  told  that,  in  the 
first  place,  great  and  strong  walls  were  built  up- 
wards on  the  sides  of  the  hill,  forming  at  their  sum- 
mits a  square  platform  perfectly  level,  which  was 
enclosed  by  adding  to  the  lower  walls  a  range  of 
cloisters,  that  surrounded  the  outer  court,  communi- 
cating at  one  angle  with  Fort  Antonia.  This  court 
was  paved  with  a  variety  of  stones ;  and  beyond  it, 
enclosed  by  a  second  partition  of  peculiarly  elegant 
workmanship,  but  only  three  cubits  in  height,  sur- 
mounted by  pillars,  and  ascended  to  by  fourteen 
steps,  was  the  court  of  the  sanctuary,  into  which  no 
Gentile  might  enter.  On  the  eastern  side  of  the 
second  quadrangle  was  the  women's  court,  where 
the  daughters  of  Zion  assembled  to  worship ;  and 
here  also  stood  another  range  of  buildings,  the  natu- 
ral height  of  which  was  not  easily  discernible  from 
without.  Four  gates  on  the  north,  four  on  the  south, 
and  two  on  the  east  side,  led  to  this  court ;  the  west- 
ern wall  was  unbroken.  Of  these  gates,  nine  were 
overlaid  with  silver  and  gold ;  but  the  tenth,  which 
opened  eastward,  was  far  more  magnificent,  being 
of  Corinthian  brass,  of  considerably  larger  propor- 
tions than  the  rest,  adorned  with  double  splendour, 
having  the  precious  metals  more  profusely  spread 
9 


96  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

upon  them,  and  with  more  elaborate  ornament. 
These  gateways  were  of  such  depth  as  to  resemble 
towers,  admitting  of  a  room  on  either  side  within, 
between  the  outer  and  the  inner  door.  Some  idea 
may  be  formed  of  the  grandeur  of  these  approaches, 
when  it  is  stated  that  each  door  was  in  height  thirty 
cubits,  and  its  breadth  fifteen ;  while  the  pillars  that 
supported  the  chambers  within  the  gateway  were 
twelve  cubits  in  circumference.  The  doors  of  the 
eastern,  or  "  Beautiful  gate,"  which  stood  over 
against  the  entrance  of  the  Temple  itself,  were 
forty  cubits  high ;  but  the  principal  feature  of  the 
whole  pile  of  sacred  edifices  was  the  snowy  white- 
ness of  the  polished  stones  that  formed  it;  their 
enormous  size,  and  the  unbroken  surface,  presented 
to  the  eye  by  means  of  such  exquisite  fitting  of  one 
to  another  as  scarcely  allowed  any  junction  to  be 
perceptible.  Accustomed  as  they  were  to  worship 
on  that  spot,  and  familiarized  with  the  magnificence 
that  then  surmounted  them,  the  disciples  could  not 
refrain  from  exclaiming,  "  Master,  see  what  manner 
of  stones,  and  what  buildings  are  here  !" 

The  court  of  the  Gentiles,  and  of  the  women,  and 
that  of  the  men  also,  being  passed,  another  ascent 
led  to  the  level  of  the  Temple  itself,  the  particulars 
of  which  we  do  not  attempt  to  describe,  beyond 
what  were  visible  to  the  Roman  host,  whose  eyes 
must  almost  have  failed  with  gazing  on  it,  while 
they  computed  the  value  of  spoils,  such  as  had  never 
before  invited  their  rapacious  grasp.  The  tenth 
legion,  encamped  on  the  Mount  of  Olives  could 


THE   TEMPLE.  97 

look  down  into  its  beauteous  recesses,  when  the 
morning  sun-beam  rested  on  those  stately  pillars, 
and  threw  into  the  richest  relief  the  massive  foliage 
of  vine-leaves,  grapes,  pomegranates,  and  other  ex- 
quisite tracery  that  hung  upon  the  snowy  structure 
in  masses  of  solid  gold.  Opening,  as  it  did,  to  the 
east,  and  closed  from  view  only  in  the  holiest  place, 
which  the  high-priest  alone,  once  in  the  year,  might 
enter,  while  a  costly  veil,  profusely  embroidered  in 
blue,  scarlet,  and  purple,  hung  before  the  entrance 
of  the  sanctuary,  revealing,  when  withdrawn,  the  al- 
tar of  incense,  the  golden  table  of  shew-bread,  and 
the  seven-branched  candlestick ;  all  but  the  most 
distant  and  mysterious  recess,  (the  spot  where  for- 
merly rested  the  visible  glory  of  the  Eternal,)  was 
frequently  laid  open,  like  a  dream  of  imaginary  mag- 
nificence, to  the  astonished  view  of  those  who  hov 
ered  on  the  opposite  heights :  the  altar  of  burnt 
offering  standing  in  the  open  air,  surrounded  by  the 
priests,  while  all  Israel  worshipped  beyond  the  light 
and  elegant  frame-work  that  encompassed  it,  com- 
pleted the  sublime  spectacle. 

That  holy  spot  was  then,  indeed,  polluted  by  the 
presence  of  men  of  strife  and  blood,  contending  for 
the  possession,  with  other  views  and  far  less  sacred 
purposes  than  a  pious  Israelite  could  have  enter- 
tained: but  its  external  aspect  had  undergone  no 
change,  neither  was  its  sanctity  diminished  in  the 
eyes  of  many  thousands  who  daily  pressed  to  offer 
the  prayers  of  agonized  apprehension  in  its  beloved 
courts.  It  stood  ;  and  around  it  rallied  those  whose 


98  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

heart's  blood  was  ready  to  flow  in  defence  of  every 
stone  that  formed  that  majestic  pile.  It  stood,  even 
where  the  voice  of  Omnipotence  came  from  heaven 
unto  Abraham,  when  with  outstretched  arm  he 
poised  the  knife  above  his  only  son,  with  that  im- 
mutable promise  and  oath  by  which  the  blessing  of 
all  nations  through  Abraham's  seed  is  still  secure : 
on  that  spot  where  David's  supplication  had  prevail- 
ed to  avert  a  former  judgment  from  Jerusalem,  and 
sheath  the  sword  of  a  destroying  angel,  commis- 
sioned to  visit  for  the  monarch's  sin :  on  that  spot 
where,  in  Solomon's  day,  the  effulgence  of  God's 
presence  had  so  filled  the  former  house,  as  to  render 
it  untenable  by  feeble  man :  on  that  spot  where  a 
greater  than  Solomon  had  recently  made  the  glory 
of  the  second  Temple  surpass  the  glory  of  the  for- 
mer house ;  where  David's  Son  and  David's  Lord 
bore  as  an  accusation  the  title  that  shall  yet  be  his 
glory  throughout  the  universe 5  where  Abraham's 
seed,  the  true  and  only  sacrifice  for  sin,  had  verified 
at  once  the  type  of  Isaac's  doom,  and  sealed  the 
promised  blessing  to  the  utmost  ends  of  the  earth. 
HE  never  despised,  or  spoke  lightly  even  of  the  ma- 
terial structure  that  crowned  the  holy  mount ;  many 
instances  may  be  cited  of  a  directly  opposite  tenden- 
cy ;  as  in  the  expression,  "  Whoso  shall  swear  by 
the  Temple,  sweareth  by  it,  and  by  Him  that  dwell- 
eth  therein"  "  Make  not  my  Father's  house  an  house 
of  merchandize  ;"  and  others.  In  like  manner  we 
find  the  apostles,  to  the  latest  period  of  their  pro- 
ceedings in  Jerusalem,  observing  the  ordinances  of 


99 

the  LORD'S  house ;  and  Paul  energetically  clearing 
himself,  not  only  "before  the  Roman  governors  in  Ju- 
dea,  but  before  the  Jews  in  Rome,  of  any  infraction 
of  that  rule :  "  I  have  committed  nothing  against 
the  people,  or  customs  of  our  fathers"  he  says  to  the 
latter ;  and  to  the  former,  he  reiterates  the  fact  that 
he,  as  a  Jew,  was  found  by  the  Jews  "purified  in 
the  Temple"  in  fulfilment  of  a  strictly  Jewish  vow, 
not  disputing  or  opposing  anything  connected  with 
their  worship.  We  should  do  well  sometimes  to  call 
to  mind  the  dealings  and  expressions  of  the  first  be- 
lievers, the  inspired  apostles  of  our  Lord,  together 
with  his  own  example,  in  reference  to  that  which 
was  emphatically  ordained  to  be  "  a  house  of  prayer 
for  all  nations ;"  instead  of  using  means  to  deaden 
our  sympathies,  and  to  encourage  ourselves  in  con- 
temptuous thoughts  of  that  "mountain  of  the 
LORD'S  house,"  to  which,  as  to  an  appointed  cen- 
tre, all  nations  shall  yet  flow. 

The  fort  Antonia  was  no  part  of  the  original  de 
sign — the  sacred  antiquities  of  the  spot.  Herod 
built  it  on  a  point  of  rock  at  the  northern  verge  of 
Moriah,  where  a  deep  trench  was  also  carried  along 
its  base,  separating  it  from  Bezetha.  To  render 
this  steep  more  inaccessible,  the  rock  was  artificially 
smoothed,  from  its  foundation  upwards,  by  the  ad- 
dition of  polished  stone  laid  on  its  surface,  so  that 
any  one  attempting  to  scale  it  would  find  no  possi 
billity  of  fixing  his  foot  there.  There  rose  a  wall 
abruptly  from  this  hopeless  ascent,  and  within  it  the 
tower;  a  most  formidable  building,  containing  in 
9* 


100  JUD.EA    CAPTA. 

itself  every  requisite  for  the  purpose  to  which  it  was 
appropriated  by  its  founder.  Josephus  aptly  says 
that  whereas  the  Temple  was  a  fortress  that  guarded 
the  city,  so  was  the  tower  of  Antonia  a  guard  to  the 
Temple.  It  had  four  turrets  at  its  four  corners,  the 
south-eastern  one  being  considerably  higher  than  the 
rest,  and  entirely  commanding  the  whole  area  of  the 
Temple.  A  Roman  legion  had  always  been  sta- 
tioned here,  and  from  this  high  turret  they  were  ac- 
customed to  watch  the  proceedings  of  the  Jews,  when 
assembled  at  their  stated  festivities ;  patrolling  also 
around  the  cloisters,  into  which  they  had  opened 
communications  from  the  lower  part  of  the  tower. 
On  a  former  occasion,  the  Jews  had  delivered  them- 
selves from  this  degrading  intrusion,  by  destroying 
the  range  of  buildings  that  abutted  on  the  tower, 
and  so  depriving  the  soldiers  of  a  covered  way ;  but 
they  were  compelled  to  restore  them.  Subsequently 
the  enemy  was  altogether  expelled ;  and  Antonia 
became  the  prize  of  the  strongest  party  among  those 
whose  contentions  so  fatally  distracted  and  weak- 
ened the  city.  The  two  leaders,  Simon  and  John, 
the  latter  of  whom  had  possession  of  the  Temple, 
and  the  former  of  Zion,  or  the  upper  city,  continued 
to  oppose  each  other ;  and  Josephus  represents  it  as 
an  act  of  great  kindness  on  the  part  of  the  Romans, 
to  subdue  the  animosity  by  destroying  both  parties. 
He  says,  "  The  sedition  destroyed  the  city,  and  the 
Romans  destroyed  the  sedition ;  which  was  a  much 
harder  thing  to  do  than  to  destroy  the  walls."  Nev- 
ertheless, the  walls  gave  them  some  trouble;  and 


ATTACK    ON   BEZETHA.  101 

had  not  the  LORD  been  wroth  with  his  people,  the 
virgin  daughter  of  Zion  might  have  shaken  her  head 
at  those  iron  legions,  and  laughed  to  scorn  their  bat- 
tering rams,  as  serenely  as  she  derided  the  spears 
of  the  Assyrian. 

Titus,  having  completed  his  preparations,  now  pro- 
ceeded closely  to  examine  the  wall,  in  order  to  select 
any  weak  point ;  and  this,  unhappily,  he  was  enabled 
to  do.  In  that  part  of  Bezetha  which  was  most 
thinly  inhabited,  the  builders  of  Agrippa's  wall  left 
the  work  in  an  imperfect  state  at  its  junction  with 
the  old  wall,  which  here  was  also  lower  and  more 
assailable.  To  this  quarter  the  general  ordered  up 
his  engines,  and  received  a  further  stimulus  to  his 
zeal  from  the  mischief  that  befell  his  friend  Nicanor. 
Josephus,  it  appears  on  his  own  evidence,  was  prowl- 
ing about  under  the  walls,  seeking  to  persuade  his 
countrymen  into  a  surrender,  as  "  a  person  known  to 
them."  Known  he  had  been  as  an  illustrious  Jew, 
and  as  an  intrepid  warrior ;  but  he  was  also  now 
known  to  them  as  a  traitor,  an  apostate,  and  a  de- 
ceitful tool  of  the  enemy,  worthy  of  no  oth<3r  reply 
from  them  than  was  conveyed  in  the  shower  of  darts 
with  which  they  greeted  his  insidious  approach. 
By  one  of  these  weapons  Nicanor  was  wounded  in 
the  shoulder,  and  Titus,  despairing  of  treachery 
within,  resolved  to  press  most  vigorously  the  assault 
from  without.  He  gave  his  soldiers  leave  to  fire  the 
suburbs,  as  an  earnest,  perhaps,  of  the  desolation  that 
they  might  hope  to  carry  to  the  utmost ;  he  also  di 
rected  them  to  raise  banks  of  timber  against  the  city, 


102  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

placing  his  archers  in  the  midst  of  the  workmen,  and 
drawing  out  in  their  front  a  number  of  the  engines, 
from  which  stones,  javelins,  and  other  missiles  were 
continually  cast,  to  deter  the  besieged  from  attempt- 
ing a  sally,  and  to  drive  from  the  walls  those  who 
were  prepared  to  obstruct  their  operations. 

And  now  every  remaining  tree  available  for  their 
purpose  was  cut  down ;  not  only  the  gardens  and 
fragrant  groves,  but  the  stately  growth  of  many  an 
age,  fell  beneath  the  alien  axe — "  the  fir  tree,  and 
the  pine  tree,  and  the  box  together ;"  not,  alas !  to 
beautify  the  place  of  the  Lord's  sanctuary,  but  to 
aid  in  the  work  of  its  destruction.  It  was  a  bitter 
spectacle  for  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  to  behold 
their  beautiful  land  laid  waste,  and  the  trees  under 
which  their  fathers'  fathers  had  reposed, — trees  that 
had  seen  the  bright  days  of  Judah,  when  no  alien 
vexed  her  borders, — dragged  heavily  along  the  dis- 
figured plain  to  form  a  huge  embankment  against 
them.  They  were  not  idle.  They  had  not  ceased 
to  hope,  and  hoping  to  be  strong  and  of  good  cour- 
age in  contesting  every  stone  of  their  sacred  walls. 
They  assembled  towards  the  point  of  attack,  bring- 
ing up  such  engines  as  they  had,  being  spoils  taken 
from  Cestius,  and  from  the  lately-expelled  garrison 
of  Roman  soldiers.  Josephus  speaks  contemptu- 
ously of  their  unskilfulness  in  the  use  of  these  ma- 
chines, having  had  little  practice  or  instruction  in  the 
art ;  but  he  admits  that  they  frequently  ran  out,  in 
defiance  of  the  Roman  batteries,  and  finally  attacked 
the  men  at  the  banks,  who,  covering  themselves  with 


THE.  WALLS   ASSAULTED.  103 

hurdles,  as  at  Jotapata,  and,  defended  by  their  en- 
gines and  archers,  suffered  but  little  obstruction. 
Josephus  speaks  with  satisfaction  of  the  havoc  made 
by  some  extraordinary  catapults  belonging  to  the 
tenth  legion,  which  threw  masses  of  rock,  the  weight 
of  a  talent,  to  a  great  distance,  and  with  such  terri- 
hle  force  as  to  overthrow  whole  ranks  of  men.  The 
Jews  for  a  time  baffled  these  ;  not  only  the  noise  of 
the  engine,  but  the  shining  whiteness  of  those  stones 
of  Zion,  gave  notice  of  their  approach :  the  watch- 
men stationed  on  their  towers  uttered  a  warning 
cry,  those  around  prostrated  themselves  behind 
their  battlements,  and  the  instrument  of  death  passed 
harmless  over  them.  The  Romans  perceiving  this, 
blackened  the  stones,  thus  rendering  them  less  visi- 
ble, and  by  this  means  destroyed  many  at  one  blow. 
Nevertheless,  their  operations  were  incessantly  inter- 
rupted by  the  Jews,  who  harassed  them  day  and 
night,  and  scarcely  permitted  them  to  complete  tho 
banks. 

The  work  was  at  length  completed,  the  interven- 
ing ground  measured,  and  the  dreadful  engines  ad- 
vanced to  the  very  walls  5  and  from  three  different 
quarters  at  the  same  moment,  with  a  thundering 
noise,  the  attack  was  made.  A  great  cry  was  heard 
within  the  city,  whether  of  terror  or  defiance,  or  both, 
the  narrator  does  not  state,  but  he  admits  that  they 
suspended  their  quarrels,  and  united  in  defence  of 
their  bulwarks.  Seizing  lighted  torches,  they  ran 
round  the  walls,  hurling  them  at  the  engines,  shoot- 
ing, at  the  same  time,  their  darts  at  those  who 


104  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

worked  them.  A  battering-ram  of  the  fifteenth 
legion  actually  moved  the  corner  of  a  tower,  and 
inspired  hopes  that  a  breach  would  be  effected ;  but 
no  further  damage  was  done  by  it,  and  a  furious 
sally  of  the  Jews,  who  leaped  down  upon  the  hurdles 
that  covered  the  machines,  tore  them  in  pieces,  and 
attacked  the  men  belonging  to  them.  Titus  found 
great  difficulty  in  repelling  these  assaults,  though 
he  made  the  most  of  his  horsemen  and  archers,  and 
ultimately  beat  back  the  gallant  defenders,  who 
brought  fire  to  the  very  framework  of  the  engines, 
and  fought  as  did  their  fathers  of  old.  But  alas ! 
"  their  Rock  had  sold  them  and  the  LORD  had  shut 
them  up." 


JEWISH   STRATAGEM. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

AFTER  the  impression  just  noticed  had  been  made 
an  the  upper  part  of  a  tower,  the  Jews  suddenly 
suspended  their  efforts.  They  discontinued  the  sal- 
lies, and  withdrew  within  their  fortifications,  lead- 
ing the  assailants  to  conclude  that  they  were  either 
so  wearied  out  by  continued  exertion,  or  so  intimi- 
dated by  the  formidable  aspect  of  the  besieging 
army,  and  the  shaking  of  one  of  Z  ion's  bulwarks,  as 
to  have  yielded  to  despondency,  and  forborne  the 
hopeless  fight.  The  Romans  hereupon  encouraged 
themselves,  and  hastened  the  completion  of  their 
plan,  each  camp  being  the  scene  of  eager  bustle  and 
preparation  for  renewed  assaults,  while  every  man 
found  somewhat  to  occupy  him  in  the  military  works. 
Quietly  and  unsuspected,  the  defenders  collected 
their  force,  and  availing  themselves  of  a  small  pri- 
vate gateway  at  the  tower  of  Hippicus,  they  passed 
out,  each  man  being  provided  with  fire,  and  came 
so  suddenly  up  to  the  very  banks  that  the  enemy 
were  fortifying,  that  the  Roman  warriors  were  con- 
strained to  cry  out  to  their  dispersed  comrades  for 
help.  These  advanced  from  all  parts  of  the  camp 
to  the  rescue,  hastily  forming  in  their  usual  excel- 


106  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

lent  order ;  but  neither  numbers  nor  discipline  avail- 
ed them  against  the  valour  of  the  Jews.  Josephus 
is  obliged  to  confess  this,  however  unwillingly,  and 
that  for  a  long  time  new  succours  only  came  up  to 
be  routed,  while  one  party  struggled  to  fire  the 
works  and  destroy  the  engines,  the  other  to  preserve 
them.  "  The  Jews,"  says  this  recreant,  "  were  now 
too  hard  for  the  Romans  by  the  furious  assaults  they 
made,  like  madmen."  On  a  former  occasion  Jose- 
phus had  done  the  same,  and  probably  he  would 
have  thought  it  hard  to  stigmatize  the  heroes  of 
Jotapata  as  furious  wild  beasts  and  madmen,  when 
contending  for  their  homes,  their  wives,  their  chil- 
dren, their  own  good  land,  and  their  own  lives ;  pro- 
bably if  to  these  had  been  added  the  Temple  of  the 
Lord  in  Jerusalem,  and  Mount  Zion,  the  holy  city 
itself,  he  would  have  used  such  an  argument  to  fire 
the  courage  of  his  comrades  into  tenfold  ardour. 
But  Josephus  was  now  the  sordid  craven  tool  of  the 
pagan  foe,  the  hireling  sycophant,  so  sold  to  work 
iniquity  against  his  own  people,  that  he  could  assist 
to  batter  down  those  sacred  bulwarks ;  and  even 
after  beholding  the  utter,  the  unprecedented,  the 
heart-withering  destruction  that  came  upon  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  at  the  hands  of  savage  barbarians,  he 
could  coolly  sit  down  and  cull  degrading  epithets 
wherewith  to  cast  a  stain  upon  the  memory  of  his 
butchered  brethren.  Yet  this  too  is  overruled  for 
good :  out  of  his  own  mouth  we  judge  the  traitor, 
and  measure  by  the  standard  of  his  irrepressible  ma- 


DESPERATE  STRUGGLE.          107 

lignity  the  extent  of  his  calumnious  charges  against 
them. 

To  return  to  the  "  madmen :"  they  succeeded  in 
setting  fire  to  the  works,  and  for  some  time  the  Ro- 
man machinery  was  in  imminent  danger  of  being 
reduced  to  ashes.  A  select  band  from  Alexandria, 
concerning  whom  the  historian  hints  that  theii 
martial  prowess  had  not  previously  been  very  con- 
spicuous, succeeded,  however,  in  staying  the  impet- 
uous progress  of  the  Jews,  while  many  on  both 
sides  fell  around  the  fatal  engines.  At  length  Titus, 
predestined  to  destroy — as  did  the  heathen  kings  of 
old  whenever  the  Lord  was  provoked  to  sell  his  peo- 
ple into  the  hand  of  their  enemies — advanced  at  the 
head  of  his  irresistible  horsemen,  and,  according  to 
Josephus,  slew  with  his  own  hand  twelve  of  "  the 
enemy"  that  is  to  say,  of  the  foremost  Jews,  who 
were  offering  themselves  willingly  for  the  defence  of 
their  sacred  citadel.  When  the  rest  saw  their  lead- 
ers fall  by  a  single  arm,  and  that  the  arm  of  him 
who  had  brought  the  abomination  of  desolation  to 
the  verge  of  their  holy  place,  they  seem  to  have 
been  struck  with  a  panic, — a  consciousness  that  they 
were  delivered  to  the  destroyer,  and  under  this  influ- 
ence they  retreated  into  the  city.  One  man  alone 
was  taken  alive,  and  he,  by  the  orders  of  the  merci- 
less Titus,  was  crucified  before  the  walls,  "  to  see," 
says  Josephus.  "  whether  the  rest  would  be  affrighted, 
and  abate  of  their  obstinacy"  We  quote  this  lan- 
guage to  justify  the  loathing  disgust  with  which  we 
cannot  but  contemplate  his  character,  and  to  exhibit 
10 


108  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

his  true  feeling  towards,  or  rather  against,  his  af- 
flicted nation.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  intimida- 
tion was  effected  by  this  act  of  cowardly  ferocity, 
but  on  the  following  night  an  extraordinary  panic 
seized  the  Roman  host,  in  which,  though  their  scribe 
records  it  not,  they  probably  did  some  execution  one 
upon  another. 

Titus  had  commanded  the  erection  of  three 
towers,  each  fifty  cubits  high,  for  the  double  pur- 
pose of  overlooking  the  defences  and  of  driving  from 
the  walls  all  who  should  advance  to  man  them.  At 
midnight,  while  the  Jews  within  were  in  consider- 
able agitation  at  the  death  of  John,  the  general  of 
the  Idumeans,  who  had  been  shot  by  an  Arabian 
after  the  battle,  when  standing  in  seeming  security, 
conversing  on  the  wall,  and  whose  loss  filled  Jerusa- 
lem with  lamentation ;  and  while  the  Romans  qui- 
etly reposed  in  their  camps,  one  of  these  towers  sud- 
denly fell  down,  with  a  terrible  crash,  leading  the 
army  to  suppose  that  the  Jews  were  upon  them 
again.  Great  confusion  ensued  among  the  legions  ; 
each  man  suspected  his  neighbour  to  be  a  foe  ;  on  all 
sides  the  watchword  was  demanded,  and  tumult 
reigned  throughout  the  host,  for,  seeing  no  enemy 
among  them,  treachery  was  generally  surmised.  It 
was  not  without  great  difficulty,  and  probably  blood- 
shed, that  Titus  succeeded  in  explaining  the  inci- 
dent and  allaying  the  storm. 

To  these  fatal  towers  the  Romans  owed  their  con- 
quest;  they  rendered  resistance  una vailing.  Covered 
with  plates  of  iron,  they  defied  the  agency  of  fire, 


MELANCHOLY    PROSPECTS.  109 

hitherto  so  effective  against  the  Roman  works ;  their 
altitude  secured  the  archers  and  slingers  from  all 
weapons  levelled  at  them  from  the  walls,  while  en- 
abling them  to  take  a  sure  and  deadly  aim  at  those 
below.  Besides,  the  Romans  had  made  them  suffi- 
ciently strong  to  bear  the  lighter  engines,  and  thus 
they  directed  whole  vollies  against  the  garrison, 
who  were  compelled  to  retire,  leaving  the  enormous 
rams  to  deal  unobstructedly  their  fearful  blows 
against  the  rampart  walls. 

What  heart  can  conceive  the  terrors  of  this  season, 
as  experienced  by  those  who  were  surrounded,  see- 
ing no  way  of  escape  !  We  speak  not  of  Jewish  men 
so  much  as  of  the  poor,  weak,  tender  women  and 
little  ones,  and  of  the  very  aged,  some  of  whom  had 
heard  the  thrilling  sounds  of  compassionate  warning, 
when,  melted  into  sorrow,  they  followed  the  steps  of 
the  holy  Sufferer,  who  bore  his  cross  along  the  proud 
and  stately  streets  of  the  city,  and  bewailed  the 
cruel  death  to  which  He  was  ignorantly  doomed. 

"  Daughters  of  Jerusalem,"  He  said,  "  weep  not 
for  me,  but  weep  for  yourselves  and  for  your  children. 
For  behold,  the  days  are  coming  in  the  which  they 
shall  say,  Blessed  are  the  barren,  and  the  wombs 
that  never  bare,  and  the  paps  which  never  gave 
suck.  Then  shall  they  begin  to  say  to  the  moun- 
tains, Fall  on  us,  and  to  the  hills,  Cover  us."  Surely 
such  must  have  been  the  language,  secret,  if  not  ut- 
tered, of  the  terrified  females,  as  they  stole  a  glance 
at  the  tremendous  array  of  those  camps,  swarming 
with  a  horde  of  fierce,  brutal,  sanguinary,  licentious 


110  JUD/EA    CAPTA. 

devil-worshippers,  who  never  knew  what  pity  meant, 
and  who  were  lured  to  the  enterprise  by  nothing 
but  the  prospect  of  fully  satiating  all  their  vilest  and 
most  ferocious  passions.  Surely  such  must  have 
been  the  mother's  moan,  as  she  looked  on  her  beau- 
teous children,  and  pictured  to  herself  the  horrors  of 
a  life-long  slavery,  with  all  its  hideous  concomitants, 
including  the  torturing  deaths  reserved  for  multi- 
tudes in  the  gladiatorial  and  other  murderous  spec- 
tacles of  Rome.  Imagination  faints  beneath  the  ef- 
fort to  realize  for  one  moment  what  those  endured 
who  were  now  pent  in  by  the  tottering  walls  and 
towers  of  Jerusalem. 

On  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  siege  was  the  imper- 
fect wall  of  Agrippa  surmounted,  and  Bezetha 
taken.  The  Jews  had  retired  within  the  more  pow- 
erful bulwarks  of  their  second  wall,  having  the  north- 
ern division  of  the  city,  which  was  indeed  but  a 
modern  suburb  to  ancient  Jerusalem,  for  their  occu- 
pation. Josephus  attributes  their  abandonment  of 
it  to  laziness  and  ill-concerted  counsels ;  though  he 
had  just  before  proved  the  impossibility  of  their  with- 
standing the  method  of  assault  adopted  by  the  enemy, 
who  had  in  him  an  accurate  informant  on  every 
point ;  an  experienced  soldier,  perfectly  able  to  direct 
their  operations  against  the  city  of  his  God ;  and  as 
consummate  a  traitor  as  ever  stabbed  the  bosom 
which  had  given  him  suck.  He,  of  course,  would 
have  preferred  that  the  Jews  had  remained  to  be 
slaughtered  in  the  indefensible  streets  of  Bezetha  $ 
instead  of  which,  he  found  himself  with  his  employ 


FORMER   TIMES.  Ill 

ers,  established  on  a  spot  most  memorable  for  the 
destruction  of  their  ancient  predecessors — they  oc- 
cupied now  the  ground  where  Rabshakeh  had 
pitched  his  camp,  shortly  before  the  divine  vengeance 
which  followed  them  thence  overtook  the  host  of  the 
Assyrian,  and  slew  in  one  night  by  invisible  means  a 
hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand  men.  Dearly  as 
were  all  their  national  deliverances  cherished  by  the 
Jews,  no  doubt  many  thought  on  this,  and  looked  for 
a  similar  miracle  to  rescue  Jerusalem ;  they  would 
call  to  mind  the  words  spoken  of  old,  in  reference  to 
the  Assyrian  invader,  "  He  shall  not  come  into  this 
city,  nor  shoot  an  arrow  there,  nor  cast  a  bank 
against  it.  By  the  way  that  he  came,  by  the  same 
shall  he  return,  and  shall  not  come  into  this  city, 
saith  the  LORD.  For  I  will  defend  this  city  to  save 
it,  for  mine  own  sake,  and  for  my  servant  David's 
sake."  The  progress  of  the  Roman  arms  had  not 
yet  extended  beyond  the  point  of  the  Assyrian's  ad- 
vance, and  it  is  very  probable  that  in  suddenly  re- 
tiring to  their  ancient  limits  the  garrison  had  in  view 
this  fact.  Their  true  unbroken  wall  still  encom- 
passed the  city  of  Melchizedek,  (the  ancient  Jebus,) 
the  city  of  David,  and  Mount  Moriah :  in  scripture 
language,  Jerusalem,  Zion.  and  the  Mountain  of  the 
Lord's  house ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  such  are  the 
limits  named  in  the  promises  of  future  exaltation  to 
the  holy  city.  Confined  within  a  narrower  compass, 
suffering  much  more  from  the  strictness  of  the  siege, 
and  having  a  nearer,  a  much  more  formidable  view 
of  the  enemy,  still  the  daughter  of  Zion  sat  as  a 
10* 


112  JTJD.EA    CAPTA. 

queen  within  the  uninvaded  circuit  of  her  original 
domain ;  and  the  utmost  demolition  effected  by  the 
Romans  in  the  northern  quarter  of  the  city  was  but 
the  renewal  of  what  Cestius  had  previously  done. 
From  this  period,  every  advantage  obtained  by  fhe 
besiegers  was  indeed  against  Jerusalem. 

The  camp  being  thus  far  advanced,  and  all  the 
battering  engines  brought  up,  the  attack  was,  of 
course,  upon  the  wall  that  stretched  from  the  tower 
of  Antonia  to  that  of  Hippicus,  sweeping  round 
Acra,  and  enclosing  the  busiest,  the  most  crowded 
part  of  the  whole  city.  Here  were  the  shops  and 
markets ;  here  the  artizans  resided,  and  business  of 
all  kinds  was  transacted.  The  streets  were  narrow, 
steep,  and  intricate,  rising  towards  the  Temple  by 
causeways  and  flights  of  steps,  arid  descending  again 
into  the  Tyropean  pass,  which  it  must  always  be 
borne  in  mind  was  then  a  deep  ravine,  an  exceed- 
ingly narrow  and  abrupt  valley,  intersecting  the 
three  mounts,  Moriah,  Zion,  and  Acra.  To  judge 
of  ancient  Jerusalem  by  the  position  of  its  surface 
in  our  day,  is  merely  to  mislead  ourselves ;  for  the 
very  outlines  are  in  many  places  lost  j  and  the  inte- 
rior details  present  an  appearance  wholly  unlike  its 
former  aspect.  "  Built  upon  its  own  heap,"  parts  of 
the  city  now  stands  on  foundations  overtopping  the 
summit  of  lofty  buildings  that  once  occupied  the 
same  site,  as  regards  mere  measurement  from  given 
points  5  and  when  we  talk  of  hills  arid  passes,  we  re- 
fer to  places  where  at  this  moment  perhaps  a  level 
plain  extends  beneath  the  incredulous  eye.  Many 


CHANGES    OF   ASPECT.  113 

who  visit  the  spot  with  minds  correctly  impressed 
from  scripture  with  the  real  aspect  of  the  city  of 
David,  and  its  surrounding  localities,  are  perplexed, 
disappointed,  and  almost  tempted  to  doubt  the  accu- 
racy of  the  inspired  description  ;  while,  in  like  man- 
ner, the  inquirer  into  such  historical  records  as  this 
of  Josephus  is  led  to  account  many  things  fabulous, 
because  his  modern  plan  of  Jerusalem  tends  to  con- 
tradict them.  No  other  place  under  heaven  has 
known  such  marvellous  changes ;  no  other  country 
has  undergone  so  strange  a  succession  of  desolating 
and  transforming  vicissitudes ;  but  in  despite  of  all, 
we  may  recall  every  event  of  her  memorable  his- 
tory in  connexion  with  the  very  spot  on  which  it  oc- 
curred ;  and  sweet  to  those  who  love  her  will  be  the 
task,  when  the  days  of  her  mourning  are  ended ! 

While  Titus  marshalled  his  bands  for  a  fresh  at- 
tack, having  also  opened,  by  his  recent  advance,  a 
much  nearer  communication  with  the  camp  on 
Mount  Olivet,  the  Jews  also  disposed  their  force  to 
the  best  advantage.  John  of  Gischala  occupied  the 
tower  of  Antonia,  and  the  northern  range  of  clois- 
ters :  while  Simon,  his  rival,  manned  the  wall,  where 
it  stretched  in  a  crescent  form,  bending  back  to  an 
old  gate,  near  the  tower  of  Hippicus,  for  its  course 
was  like  a  bent  bow,  almost  semicircular,  bulging 
out  to  the  north-west;  and  then  meeting  the  old 
wall,  in  its  course  westward  from  the  temple.  Di- 
vided into  several  bodies,  the  Jews  planted  them- 
selves on  this  line  of  wall,  and  most  gallantly  de- 
fended it,  throwing  darts  at  the  enemy.  They  also 


114  JTJD^A   CAPTA. 

made  frequent  sallies,  from  which  they  were  speed- 
ily driven  back,  by  the  vast  superiority  of  the  Roman 
army,  in  weapons,  discipline,  and  generalship ;  but 
on  the  walls  they  proved  too  much  for  their  adver- 
saries, and  often  repulsed  them.  The  battle  raged 
from  day  to  day,  without  any  other  perceptible  ad- 
vantage than  that  which  the  besiegers  gained  from 
the  increasing  misery  and  privations  of  the  besieged. 
Josephus  says,  that  the  combat  was  persevered  in 
with  equal  obstinacy  on  both  sides ;  commencing 
with  the  morning's  light,  and  "  night  itself  had 
much  ado  to  part  them."  A  sleepless  watch,  with- 
out and  within,  with  eager  impatience  for  the  mor- 
row, occupied  the  hours  of  darkness ;  the  Romans 
hoping  by  some  mighty  effort  to  overcome  their  gal- 
lant opposers,  and  to  grasp  the  prey :  the  Jews  still 
looking  for  deliverance  from  Him  who  had  of  old 
put  their  enemies  to  shameful  flight,  and  who  had, 
"  as  birds  flying,"  protected  his  Jerusalem.  Neither 
Dut  off  their  armour  during  the  night,  but  lay  ready 
to  start  up  at  earliest  dawn  ;  the  great  ambition 
among  the  Jews  being  to  secure  the  post  of  greatest 
danger.  This  Josephus  admits ;  at  the  same  time 
telling  us  it  was  done  to  gratify  their  commander. 
A  motive  worthy  to  be  imputed  to  them  by  one  who 
only  lived  to  please  Titus  ;  and  whose  debased  soul 
could  now  conceive  of  no  higher  incentive  than  the 
patronizing  smile  of  a  master;  even  though  that 
master  was  an  idolatrous  heathen,  steeped  to  the 
lips  in  the  blood  of  Israel. 

Immediately  after  this  contemptible  endeavour  to 


VALOUR    OF    THE    JEWS.  115 

derogate  from  the  patriotic  valour  of  his  own  nation, 
and  proving  that  the  hope  of  gaining  the  favour  of  Ti- 
tus really  was  the  principal  stimulus  of  the  Romans,  he 
admits  that  death  itself  seemed  a  small  matter  to 
any  Jew,  if  he  could  but  kill  one  of  the  enemy.  In 
other  words,  they  fought  for  their  home  ;  for  the  city 
of  their  fathers  and  the  Temple  of  their  God ;  and 
happy  did  he  account  himself  who  diminished,  even  by 
one  individual,  the  host  arrayed  against  them,  though 
in  the  act  he  yielded  his  own  life.  If  anything  had 
been  wanting  to  prove  how  factitious  were  the  vaunt- 
ed honour  and  magnanimity  of  these  Roman  heroes, 
behold  the  fact  of  their  permitting,  yea,  employing  a 
treacherous  deserter  thus  to  slander  the  dead,  whose 
courageous  self-devotion  in  the  cause  of  their  own 
country  would  have  moved  any  honourable  foe  to 
respect  their  memories  and  applaud  their  valour. 
But  we  are  constantly  reminded  of  the  prophetic 
character  of  the  fourth  Beast :  it  not  only  devoured 
and  broke  in  pieces ;  it  "  stamped  the  residue  with 
the  feet  of  it." 

Titus  having  brought  one  of  his  battering-rams  to 
bear  on  a  central  tower  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
second  wail,  a  device  was  practised,  showing  at  once 
the  cool  self-possession  of  those  whom  the  historian 
calls  madmen,  and  the  fertility  of  their  minds  in  discov- 
ering hindrances  to  stay  the  enemy's  progress.  Pent 
in  as  they  were,  suffering  all  the  horrors  of  famine, 
and  without  hope  of  succour  from  man,  these  con- 
trivances prove  the  perseverance  of  their  expecta- 


116  JUDvEA    CAPTA. 

tion  that  the  God  of  Israel  would  yet  show  himself 
mindful  of  his  suffering  people,  and  rebuke  the  de- 
stroyer for  their  sakes.  It  is  plain,  they  could  not 
persuade  themselves  that  Jerusalem,  so  long  the 
throne  of  God's  promise,  and  the  Temple  where  He 
once  delighted  to  dwell,  would  really  become  the 
prey  of  those  exterminating  enemies:  they  hoped 
that,  after  sorely  afflicting  them,  perhaps  He  would 
yet  repent  and  return,  and  bestow  a  blessing ;  and 
thus  hoping,  they  deemed  every  hour's  delay  of  im- 
portance to  be  purchased  at  any  price.  A  Jew, 
named  Castor,  taking  with  him  ten  more,  formed  an 
ambush  in  the  tower  now  assailed  by  the  ram ;  all  the 
rest  having  withdrawn  from  the  aim  of  the  Roman 
marksmen.  They  lay  still  until  the  tower  began  to 
shake,  then  showed  themselves,  and  Castor,  crying 
for  mercy,  implored  that  Titus  would  receive  their 
submission  and  ensure  their  safety  in  the  usual  way, 
by  giving  his  right  hand.  The  general,  whose  great 
object  was  to  gain  as  much  as  he  could  by  treachery 
on  the  other  side,  so  sparing  the  lives  of  his  own 
troops,  lent  a  willing  ear,  commanded  the  ram  to  be 
stopped,  and  encouraged  Castor  to  proceed  with  his 
overtures.  The  Jew  (having  privately  sent  word 
to  Simon  that  he  would  amuse  the  enemy  for  some 
time,  to  allow  him  more  space  for  consultation  upon 
the  defence,)  protested  his  readiness  to  descend  from 
the  tower,  and  deliver  himself  and  his  companions 
up  on  condition  of  the  afore-mentioned  pledge.  Ti- 
tus assented,  expressing  his  desire  to  extend  the  se- 


A   NLW    STRATAGEM.  117 

curity  to  the  whole  city,  if  all  its  inhabitants  could 
be  brought  to  the  same  mind. 

While  these  compliments  were  passing,  five  of  the 
ten  men  burst  out  into  vehement  protestations  that 
they  would  sooner  die  than  agree  to  the  proposed 
submission ;  the  others  pretended  to  reason  with 
them,  and  a  long  altercation  ensued,  during  which 
the  Romans  stood  idly  by,  hoping  to  gain  more  by 
this  defection,  than  by  the  strokes  of  their  battering- 
ram.  The  pretended  debate  grew  apparently  to  a 
quarrel :  Castor  was  exhorting  the  objectors  to  yield, 
and  they  in  return  brandishing  their  swords,  arid, 
finally,  appearing  to  stab  themselves,  and  to  fall 
down  slain,  to  the  great  admiration  of  Titus  and  his 
men ;  removed  as  they  were  to  a  distance,  from 
which  they  could  not  clearly  ascertain  what  passed. 
A  dart  was,  however,  shot  at  Castor,  and  stuck  in 
his  face :  he  drew  it  forth,  and  appealed  to  Titus 
against  the  unfairness  of  the  proceeding,  on  which 
the  archer  was  reprimanded.  It  may  readily  be  sup- 
posed that  all  this  occupied  some  precious  time.  Jo- 
sephus,  standing  by  his  patron,  was  desired  to  go  to 
Castor,  with  the  right  hand  of  security,  hut  he  pru- 
dently declined :  suspecting  the  sincerity  of  his 
brethren's  treason,  he  also  withheld  others  who  would 
have  gone.  Castor,  however,  continued  to  call  for 
some  one  to  come  and  receive  his  money,  which 
tempted  another  renegade,  less  cautious  than  Jose- 
phus,  to  hasten  towards  hi'm.  He  was  saluted  by 
the  hurling  of  a  heavy  stone  from  Castor's  hand, 
which  missed  him,  but  wounded  another  person. 


*1  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

Titus  now  saw  the  real  object  of  the  parley,  and,  as 
Josephus  remarks,  "  perceived  that  mercy  in  war  is 
a  pernicious  thing ;  because  such  cunning  tricks 
have  less  exercise  under  greater  severity."  He  ac- 
cordingly ordered  the  battering  to  be  resumed  more 
vigorously  than  before  ;  but  as  soon  as  the  tower  be- 
gan to  tremble,  Castor  and  his  companions  set  it  on 
fire,  leaping  into  the  flames,  to  the  great  admiration 
of  the  Romans,  by  whom  suicide  was  held  in  the 
highest  esteem ;  but  Josephus  says  they  only  leaped 
into  a  hidden  vault,  through  which  they  escaped. 
How  he  ascertained  the  fact  must  remain  doubtful ; 
but  the  stratagem  itself,  with  all  the  falsifying  partic- 
ulars that  he  was  sure  to  interweave  in  his  narra- 
tive, in  deterioration  of  the  Jewish  character,  goes 
far  to  prove  that  real  treachery  was  exceedingly  rare 
among  the  besieged,  though  most  eagerly  sought 
after  by  the  assailants. 

Before  we  recount  the  further  progress  of  the  ene- 
my, it  is  needful  to  remind  the  reader  that  within 
the  city  were  two  classes  :  one  comprising  the  help- 
less, weak,  unarmed  civilians,  many  of  whom  no 
doubt  were  led,  in  this  extremity,  to  recognise  the 
hand  of  the  Lord,  and  to  humble  themselves  under 
it ;  while  others,  seeing  the  utter  hopelessness  of  re- 
sistance, saw  no  possible  way  of  escape  from  indis- 
criminate slaughter,  save  in  an  immediate  and  un- 
conditional surrender:  and  with  these  were  doubt- 
less many  who,  in  the  extremity  of  fear  and  suffering, 
would  have  bartered  their  right  both  in  the  holy 
place  and  in  the  chosen  nation,  for  deliverance  from 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    SEDITION.  119 

present  misery.  The  other  class,  called  by  Josephus 
the  seditious,  because  they  rebelled  against  the  sov- 
ereign will  of  Rome,  consisted  of  the  fighting  men 
— those  who  were  resolved  to  perish  amid  the  ruins 
of  their  city,  rather  than  connive  at  the  advance  of  a 
hostile  footstep  within  its  sacred  boundaries.  We 
have  already  seen  by  what  cruel  aggressions  the 
Jews  were  originally  goaded  into  hostile  measures, 
at  first  purely  defensive,  but  amounting  at  length  to 
the  forcible  expulsion  of  a  powerful  people,  who  had 
long  held  them  tributary.  They  had  fully  recog- 
nised the  Roman  government,  had  long  seen  their 
cities  garrisoned  by  Roman  troops,  and  relinquished 
all  claim  to  independent  legislation  or  self-govern- 
ment. "  It  is  not  lawful  for  us  to  put  any  man  to 
death :"  "  We  have  no  king  but  Caesar." 

These  were  voluntary  declarations  of  a  state  in 
which  the  sceptre  had  departed  from  Judah,  and  the 
Lawgiver  from  between  his  feet ;  and,  strictly  speak- 
ing, they  were  guilty  of  insurrection  against  regu- 
larly instituted  authorities.  In  former  years,  God 
had  vouchsafed  to  send  them  prophets  and  deliverers, 
commissioned  to  break  the  yoke  from  off  their  necks, 
which  their  iniquities  had  provoked  Him  to  lay  on 
them :  now,  there  had  been  no  voice  of  prophecy  to 
direct,  no  anointed  champion  to  lead,  a  movement  of 
the  kind.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  the  Roman  power 
would  have  broken  arid  crumbled  beneath  them,  and 
its  fragments  scattered  like  the  chaff  of  the  summer 
thrashing  floor.  As  it  was,  those  who  struggled  for 
freedom  bore  the  brand  of  sedition ;  and  so,  with  some 
11 


120  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

colour  of  reason,  though  every  feeling  of  the  heart  in_ 
voluntarily  rises  against  it,  the  wily  Josephus  charac- 
terizes all  who  withstood  the  re-occupation  of  Jerusa- 
lem by  the  alien  power  of  Rome.  Let  it,  however 
be  also  borne  in  mind,  that  matters  had  gone  too  far 
to  admit  the  faintest  hope  of  mercy  oi>  the  part  of 
their  tyrants,  if  again  ascendant ;  and  in  contending 
for  their  city,  the  Jews  were  contending  for  their 
lives,  as  opposed  to  the  most  cruel  deaths  that  fiends 
in  human  form  could  invent ;  and  for  their  libertiesj 
as  opposed  to  tortured  and  fettered  slavery  in  a 
foreign  land,  where  men,  like  beasts  of  prey,  revelled 
in  blood.  No  marvel,  then,  if,  as  Josephus  asserts, 
the  garrison  threatened,  and  even  inflicted,  capital 
punishment  on  such  as  proposed  to  surrender  the 
city.  Expecting,  as  some  did,  a  divine  interposition, 
and  resolved,  as  others  were,  to  resist  to  their  last 
gasp  the  torrent  of  desolation  that  menaced  Jerusa- 
lem, there  was  no  alternative. 

The  Romans  greatly  dreaded  these  warlike  Jews, 
while  affecting  to  despise  them  ;  and  having  so  val- 
uable a  specimen  of  a  purchased  traitor  in  Josephus 
himself,  Titus  hoped,  by  a  fair  show  of  leniency  to 
the  more  timid  portion  of  the  inhabitants,  to  unite 
them  on  his  behalf  against  the  garrison.  Beyond 
the  second  wall  lay  Acra,  inhabited  by  the  most 
peaceable  classes;  its  narrow  streets,  running  ob- 
liquely from  the  wall,  were  peopled  by  braziers, 
dealers  and  workers  in  wool,  and  such  like ;  the 
cloth  market  also  being  there,  and  shops  of  every 
kind.  If  Titus  could  but  obtain  quiet  possession  of 


PLAN  TO  CARRY  ACRA.  121 

this  commercial  quarter,  he  might  safely  calculate 
on  reducing  the  remainder  with  little  sacrifice  of  time, 
trouble,  or  life  ;  for  here  too  were  the  few  provisions 
that  remained  in  store,  and  from  hence  he  might 
carry  on  his  operations  against  the  Temple  in  front, 
and  the  upper  city  on  his  right  hand.  The  breach, 
therefore,  made  in  the  second  wall,  was  most  impor- 
tant ;  he  did  not  stay  to  widen  it,  for  he  hoped  by  fair 
words,  and  restraining  his  soldiers  from  any  violence, 
to  ensure  a  welcome,  or  at  least  to  meet  no  resistance 
while  taking  up  a  new  position  on  this  advanced 
ground ;  but  he  had  more  to  learn. 


122  JUD^A    CAPTA. 


CHAPTER  X. 


ALTHOUGH  Titus  had,  according  to  Josephus,  just 
before  perceived  that  "  mercy  in  war  is  a  pernicious 
thing,"  it  is  surprising  with  what  dove-like  intentions 
this  Roman  eagle  entered  through  the  breach  into 
the  lower  city,  as  set  forth  in  the  next  paragraph  of 
his  history.  His  purpose  was  to  do  the  Jews  a  kind- 
ness, not  to  afflict  them  more  than  was  needful ;  to 
make  them  ashamed  of  their  obstinacy,  by  the  mag- 
nanimity of  his  forbearance.  He  forbade  his  soldiers 
to  kill  the  tradespeople,  or  to  fire  their  houses ;  nay, 
he  gave  "  the  seditious"  leave  to  fight,  without  in- 
volving their  fellow-townsmen  in  the  consequences 
of  their  timerity.  All  this  must  have  sounded  very 
generous  in  the  ears  of  the  braziers  and  weavers ; 
but  they  were  Jews — the  spot  was  Jerusalem — the 
invader  was  a  worshipper  of  stocks  and  stones,  and 
his  right-hand  man,  his  chief  adviser,  was  a  degraded 
apostate  from  the  cause  of  Israel  Having  once 
more  proclaimed  the  word — Death  to  the  Jew  who 
should  speak  of  surrender — those  whom  Titus  had  so 
courteously  permitted  to  fight,  proceeded  to  do  so, 
and  never  ceased  until  they  had  driven  him  with  all 


THE   LOWER    CITY.  123 

his  routed  host  back  through  the  breach  at  which 
they  entered. 

In  the  first  place,  a  body  of  the  Jews  made  a  sud- 
den sally  from  the  upper  gates,  falling  on  the  enemy 
outside  the  walls,  with  such  effect,  that  the  guards 
posted  by  Titus  on  the  towers  and  battlements, 
leaped  down  in  a  panic  and  fled  to  their  camps, 
shouting  with  a  great  cry  of  alarm  and  distress,  on 
account  of  their  general  and  comrades  within,  to 
whom  they  could  afford  no  succour.  The  cry  was 
echoed  by  the  latter,  who  found  themselves  en- 
compassed on  all  sides,  driven  through  narrow 
streets  and  cross  lanes  wholly  new  to  them,  while 
to  their  pursuers  every  turning  was  familiar.  En- 
tangled in  the  narrowest  passes,  hunted  down  the 
steep  descents,  or  pursued  up  their  acclivities  by  far 
more  practised  feet ;  assailed  from  the  houses,  and 
not  knowing  how  to  regain  the  spot  where  they  had 
entered,  the  Roman  force,  consisting  of  a  thousand 
choice  warriors,  might  all  have  fallen,  had  not  Titus 
gained  the  breach,  the  narrow  dimensions  of  which 
he  too  late  regretted,  and  by  a  careful  disposition  of 
his  archers,  in  some  measure  covered  the  retreat 
How  many  escaped  we  are  not  informed ;  but  the 
loss  must  have  been  great,  and  the  rout  complete 
for  the  time.  The  bitter  reviling  with  which  Jose- 
phus  mingles  his  forced  admission  of  the  bravery  of 
his  own  people,  leads  to  a  supposition  that  he  coun- 
selled this  abortive  attempt.  Howsoever  that  may 
be,  the  fact  is  acknowledged,  that  when  the  Romans 
in  full  force  returned  to  the  breach,  the  Jews  made 
11* 


124  JUD^A   CAPTA. 


a  wall  of  their  own  bodies  in  place  of  the  stones 
that  had  been  thrown  down  ;  and  in  this  way,  for 
three  entire  days,  bade  defiance  to  the  utmost  efforts 
of  the  Roman  army. 

What  a  spectacle  was  this  !  "  A  people  terrible 
from  their  beginning  hitherto,"  once  so  invincible 
that  not  only  the  armies  of  opposing  nations,  but  the 
very  elements  themselves  were  made  to  flee  before 
them.  The  sea  fled,  and  Jordan  was  driven  back, 
that  a  way  might  be  made  for  the  ransomed  to  pass 
over.  It  was  not  their  power  nor  the  might  of  their 
arm  that  wrought  deliverances  of  old,  but  it  was  the 
presence  of  the  Eternal  their  God,  who  scattered 
their  every  enemy,  and  caused  every  obstacle  to 
melt  away  as  they  advanced.  Long  they  rebelled, 
and  vexed  His  Holy  Spirit  ;  long  they  made  Him  to 
serve  with  their  sins,  wearied  Him  with  their  iniqui- 
ties, slew  the  messengers  of  His  mercy,  and  finally 
refused  even  that  Messenger  of  the  Covenant  whose 
coming  they  longed  for,  who  came  suddenly  into  the 
Temple,  and  brought  salvation  unto  Zion,  and  was 
despised,  rejected,  and  slain.  The  glory  departed 
from  Israel  ;  the  power  of  the  Most  Highest  upheld 
them  no  longer.  Yet  so  accustomed  were  they  to 
miraculous  interpositions,  so  utterly  unable  to  con- 
vince themselves  of  the  awful  truth  that  Jerusalem 
must  now  sit  down  in  the  dust,  so  unable  to  conceive 
how  a  host  of  idolatrous  barbarians  should  have  li- 
cense given  to  pollute  the  city  of  the  Great  King,  that 
they  dared  even  to  the  verge  of  a  miraculous  mani- 
festation of  mortal  energy,  and  piled  themselves,  the 


DEFEAT   OF   THE   JEWS.  125 

living  and  the  dead,  in  an  impenetrable  mass  of 
fleshly  bulwarks  before  their  beloved  Zion  !  Hate- 
ful to  God  must  be  the  feeling,  and  hateful  to  man 
it  ought  to  be,  that  hardens  itself  against  the  peo- 
ple whom  the  LORD  so  heavily  smote ;  that  dwells 
on  this  tale  as  a  mere  matter  of  exciting  amusement, 
or  historical  information,  and  does  not  lament  and 
grieve  over  the  branches  of  the  LORD'S  fair  vine- 
yard, thus  mangled  and  torn,  and  trodden  down  in 
the  mire  by  men  more  cruel  than  ravenous  beasts 
of  prey.  Even  Josephus,  whose  book  is  a  glaring 
monument  of  his  own  perfidious  infamy  and  false- 
hood, says,  "  they  made  a  wall  of  their  own  bodies 
over  against  that  part  of  the  wall  which  was  cast 
down  ;"  the  breach  whereby  the  Romans  had  once 
entered,  and  through  which  they  were  driven  out. 
But  on  the  fourth  day  the  darts  and  spears,  the  cat- 
apult and  battering-rams  prevailed ;  and  the  rem- 
nant of  Israelites  retreated,  leaving  the  entrance 
free.  It  was  not  to  themselves,  but  to  God  with 
them,  and  God  in  them,  that  their  fathers  owed  and 
attributed  their  marvellous  victories.  "  Some  trust 
in  chariots,  and  some  in  horses,"  said  the  conquering 
David,  "but  we  will  remember  the  name  of  the 
LORD  our  God."  Nor  was  it  a  mere  remembrance 
of  that  name,  or  its  repetition  that  helped  them,  but 
a  realizing  of  the  Divine  Presence  in  all  its  majesty 
and  might.  They  were  alike  accustomed  to  attempt 
by  deeds  of  daring  the  most  marvellous  achieve- 
ments, and  to  "  stand  still,  and  see  the  salvation  of 
the  LORD." 


126  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

Joshua  by  the  sound  of  rams'  horns,  Gideon  with 
his  pitchers  and  lamps,  Samson  with  the  jaw-bone 
of  an  ass,  David  with  a  pebble  from  the  brook,  con- 
quered as  surely,  as  fully,  as  did  the  numerous  hosts 
who  went  forth  to  war  with  sword  and  spear.  In 
every  combat  the  victory  was  the  LORD'S  ;  and  no 
pious  Israelite  ever  dreamed  of  arrogating  to  himself 
the  glory  of  his  conquests.  We  have  no  inspired 
record  of  the  last  dreadful  siege,  but  in  the  book  of 
Jeremiah  are  abundant  proofs  of  the  state  of  defec- 
tion into  which  Judah  must  have  fallen,  as  regarded 
the  spiritual  worship  of  the  Most  High,  before  He 
could  have  wholly  given  up  His  sanctuary  to  be  so 
polluted,  his  people  to  be  so  destroyed.  The  service 
books  now  in  use  by  the  Jews  all  over  the  world 
were  so  to  a  great  extent  previous  to  the  present 
dispersion ;  and  many  of  their  lamentations  were 
originally  composed  during  the  Babylonian  captiv- 
ity. That,  however,  was  as  nothing  compared  with 
the  Roman,  and  the  LORD  must  have  been  far  more 
grievously  displeased  with  His  people  at  the  latter 
than  at  the  former  period.  Yet  they  had  carefully 
abstained  from  their  ancient  provocations ;  they  had 
kept  themselves  free  from  idolatry,  and  in  every  par- 
ticular had  shown  themselves  zealous  of  the  law. 
How,  then,  had  they  drawn  upon  themselves  this 
terrible  visitation  ?  Isaiah  prophetically  declares  it 
in  his  twenty-ninth  chapter,  which  contains  both  the 
purposed  wrath  and  the  purposed  mercy,  in  very 
distinct  and  striking  sequence.  He  there  says, 
"  Wherefore,  the  Lord  says,  Inasmuch  as  this  peo- 


AGRA    TAKEN.  127 

pie  draw  near  me  with  their  mouth,  and  with  their 
lips  do  honour  me,  but  have  removed  their  heart  far 
from  me,  and  their  fear  towards  me  is  taught  by  the 
precept  of  men :  therefore,  behold  I  will  proceed  to 
do  a  marvellous  work  and  a  wonder :  for  the  wisdom 
of  their  wise  men  shall  perish,  and  the  understand- 
ing of  their  prudent  men  shall  be  hid."  By  the 
divine  commandment  every  Israelite  ought  himself 
to  be  instructed  and  to  teach  his  children,  out  of  the 
law,  as  given  by  Moses,  and  out  of  the  inspired  wri- 
tings of  the  prophets ;  but,  gradually,  they  had  ex- 
changed this  practice  for  a  blind  submission  to  one 
particular  class  of  men,  who  undertook  to  guide 
them,  and  to  whose  guidance  they  surrendered 
themselves.  These  were  their  wise  men  whose 
wisdom  perished ;  their  prudent  men  whose  under- 
standing was  hid ;  and  these  in  the  day  of  their 
calamity  profited  them  nothing ;  less  than  nothing, 
for,  by  putting  their  own  interpretations  between  the 
scriptures  and  those  for  whom  the  scriptures  were 
written,  they  blinded  them  to  the  clear  fulfilment  of 
predictions  therein  contained,  and  so  brought  upon 
them  the  last  and  deepest  of  all  their  afflictions. 
The  fear  of  God — the  whole  sum  and  substance  of 
religion — was  taught  by  the  precepts  of  men  :  those 
mere  human  precepts  became  to  them  instead  of 
that  opening  of  the  eyes  by  the  Lord  himself  which 
David  prayed  for  ;  and  thus  was  darkness  permitted 
to  fall  upon  the  LORD'S  dear  heritage ;  and  thus 
were  they  led  to  trust  to  the  arm  of  flesh — to  them- 
selves and  their  leaders — and  in  bitter  anguish  of 


128  JUD^A   CAPTA. 

soul  they  withdrew  from  the  fatal  breach,  leaving 
the  whole  extent  of  Acra,  in  addition  to  Bezetha,  in 
the  hand  of  the  enemy.  Titus  provided  against 
another  expulsion  by  completely  demolishing  the 
sacred  wall;  then  strengthened  as  best  he  might 
the  threatened  quarters,  and  permitted  his  forces  to 
rest,  while  he  took  a  leisurely  survey,  and  matured 
his  plans  for  the  next  attack.  He  had  learned  some 
caution  by  what  was  past ;  and  also  entertained  a 
hope  that  the  loss  of  the  sacred  wall,  and  increasing 
scantiness  of  their  supplies,  would  induce  the  gar- 
rison to  listen  to  his  proposals,  and  by  admitting  the 
army  to  become  unresisting  victims.  To  further 
this  design,  he  contrived  a  most  intimidating  spec- 
tacle, calculated  at  once  to  inflate  the  pride  of  his 
vain-glorious  followers,  and  to  dishearten  the  pent- 
up  Israelites. 

The  usual  day  for  paying  the  troops  having  ar- 
rived, the  whole  camp  was  put  in  motion.  Each 
commander  had  orders  to  draw  up  his  own  men  in 
battle-array,  fully  armed,  their  polished  cuirasses 
displayed,  their  weapons  glittering  in  the  sunshine  ; . 
the  horses  in  their  proudest  trappings,  each  led  by 
a  man  in  splendid  mail,  and,  in  short,  the  grandest 
possible  parade  of  that  magnificent  and  formidable 
host.  Thus  equipped,  they  marched  slowly  past, 
each  receiving  in  turn  his  subsistence  money :  and 
so  numerous  were  the  legions  that  four  days  were 
occupied  in  paying  them.  The  north  wall  of  the 
Temple,  the  forts,  and  all  the  upper  part  of  the  re- 
maining wall  were  covered  with  Jews  contemplating 


ROMAN   PLANS.  129 

the  scene ;  and  very  marvellous  it  appeared  to  Jose- 
phus  that  not  one  among  them  gave  any  indication 
of  turning  traitor.  Neither  the  power  nor  the  wealth, 
neither  the  savage  menaces  nor  oily  persuasions  of 
the  Roman,  might  overcome  the  constancy  of  those 
who  garrisoned  Jerusalem.  This  their  unworthy 
calumniator  attributes  to  their  consciousness  of  hav- 
ing committed  such  crimes  and  cruelties  against  the 
more  peaceable  citizens  as  could  never  be  forgiven 
by  the  Romans,  whose  meek  and  merciful  nature 
must,  of  course,  have  revolted  at  any  instance  of 
barbarity.  He  also  attributes  their  obstinacy  in  part 
to  the  decree  of  a  certain  heathen  power  called  Fate, 
whose  will,  he  says,  it  was  that  the  innocent  should 
suffer  with  the  guilty.  Such  is  the  language  of  one 
who  is  reputed  to  have  been  a  Christian  when  he 
wrote  this  narrative ! 

The  Roman  general  was  fully  aware,  alike  of  the 
advantages  gained  and  the  difficulties  that  still  beset 
his  path.  During  the  four  days'  rest  so  artfully  im- 
proved to  the  furtherance  of  his  object,  he  had 
matured  his  plans.  The  point  where  he  was  sure  to 
meet  with  the  most  desperate  resistance  was,  of 
course,  the  holy  mount, — the  Temple,  while  Zion 
appeared  an  easier  prey.  To  keep  possession  of  it, 
however,  would  be  difficult  so  long  as  the  second 
citadel  was  in  the  hands  of  those  who  believed  that 
its  possession  was  a  pledge  of  their  ultimate  triumph 
over  every  foe.  Accordingly  he  resolved  to  recom- 
mence the  attack  at  two  several  points,  assailing  fort 
Antonia,  as  a  key  to  the  Temple,  and  at  the  same 


130  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

time  endeavouring  to  carry  the  upper  city  at  a  point 
called  John's  monument.  He  was  vigorously  and 
effectually  resisted  at  both,  John  defending  the 
tower,  and  Simon,  with  the  Idumeans,  the  city  wall. 
It  appears  that  they  had,  by  continual  practice,  be- 
come expert  in  the  use  of  those  engines  their  awk- 
wardness at  which  Josephus  had  formerly  ridiculed ; 
and  having  forty  catapults  of  their  own  for  hurling 
stones,  three  hundred  for  shooting  forth  darts,  all 
ranged  advantageously  on  the  wall  and  towers,  they 
presented  a  more  formidable  front  than  Titus  wished 
to  encounter.  He  proceeded  with  his  banks;  but 
still  hoping  to  come  in  peaceably,  and  obtain  the 
place  by  flatteries,  he  deputed  Josephus  to  harangue 
them  in  their  own  language,  thinking  the  sooner  to 
persuade  them  by  means  of  one  who  knew  how  to 
strike  the  master-chord  of  Jewish  hearts.  Four  folio 
pages  are  filled  with  that  oration,  as  reported  by  its 
author,  from  which  we  shall  extract  a  few  speci- 
mens. He  first  went  round  to  select  a  place  where 
the  darts  from  their  hands  could  not  reach  him, 
while  his  words,  more  sharp  than  swords,  albeit 
smoother  than  oil,  might  take  full  effect  on  them ; 
and  having  so  ensconced  himself,  he  hegan  by  exalt- 
ing the  liberalism  of  Rome  in  matters  of  faith,  es- 
pecially their  reverence  for  the  Jewish  rites,  their  in- 
vincible prowess  in  arms,  and  that  claim  on  the  con- 
tinued submission  of  the  Jews  which  a  long  course 
of  dominion. over  them  established.  He  set  forth  the 
universal  sway  of  the  Romans  in  these  blasphemous 
terms  :  "  Evident  it  is  that  Fortune  is  on  all  hands 


HARANGUE    OP   JOSEPHUS.  131 

gone  over  to  them,  and  that  GOD,  when  he  had 
gone  round  the  nations  with  this  dominion,  is  now 
settled  in  Italy."  To  the  knowledge  of  this  assumed 
fact  he  attributed  the  submission  of  their  fathers  to 
the  Roman  arm  ;  laying  it  down,  also,  as  a  law  of 
God,  universally  recognized,  that  the  weaker  must 
always  submit  quietly  to  those  who  are  stronger  in 
war.  Had  this  principle  been  acted  upon  by  Israel 
of  old,  had  they  feared  or  faltered  when  led  to  assail 
nations  greater  and  mightier  than  themselves,  in 
possession  of  that  very  land  of  Canaan, — had  Judah 
shrunk  from  following  his  warrior  kings  when  they 
went  forth  to  battle  against  multitudes  that  could 
not  be  numbered,  the  very  memory  of  their  name 
had  long  before  perished  from  the  earth.  Well 
might  the  Jews  scoff,  as  he  tells  us  they  did,  at  his 
heathenish  nonsense.  However,  he  went  on,  repre- 
senting the  sure  destruction  that  awaited  them  from 
famine,  even  if  their  remaining  walls  withstood  the 
Roman  power  awhile,  expatiating  on  the  advanta- 
ges of  an  immediate  surrender,  and  full  reliance  on 
the  clemency  of  Titus,  until  the  jeers,  the  reproaches, 
and  the  darts  that  were  flung  against  him  convinced 
him  how  hopeless  was  that  line  of  argument.  He 
then  ceased  to  talk  as  a  pagan,  and  assailed  them 
on  the  ground  of  their  own  nationality, — the  history 
of  the  past,  and  the  present  melancholy  contrast. 
The  Most  High  God,  the  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac, 
and  of  Jacob,  whom  he  had  just  before  profanely 
represented  as  having  set  up  his  dominion  in  Italy, 
among  the  obscene  demon-gods  of  the  Pantheon,  he 
12 


132  JUD.EA    CAPTA. 

now  thought  fit  to  exalt,  as  the  only  shield  and 
strength  of  Israel  in  days  past.  "  I  even  tremble 
myself,"  said  he,  "  in  declaring  the  works  of  God  be- 
fore your  ears,  that  are  so  unworthy  to  hear  them." 
He  proceeded  to  remind  them  how  Abraham,  their 
father,  when  the  king  of  Egypt  seized  "  Queen 
Sarah,"  instead  of  marshalling  his  great  army  to  re- 
take her  by  force,  only  spread  out  his  hands  towards 
the  Temple  of  Jerusalem,  (not  quite  nine  hundred 
years  before  it  was  founded,)  on  which  the  queen 
was  sent  back  in  safety,  and  the  Egyptian  monarch 
fled,  adoring  the  holy  place  which  they  were  now 
defiling  by  bloodshed.  After  this  monstrous  fable, 
he  recounted  their  deliverances  from  Egypt,  from 
the  Assyrians,  and  from  Babylon,  and  reminded  them 
of  the  judgments  at  various  times  brought  upon 
Israel  by  their  transgressions ;  drawing  the  inference 
that  self-defence  was  not  lawful  to  the  Jews  when  as- 
sailed from  without,  seeing  that  their  calamities  and 
their  deliverances  had  always  come  from  God  him- 
self. 

Whether  Josephus  really  thought  as  he  spoke  we 
cannot  determine ;  but  if  he  did  the  conviction  must 
have  forced  itself  upon  his  mind  subsequently  to  his 
own  memorable  defence  of  Jotapata.  Then  followed 
some  reproaches  against  those  whom  he  was  ad- 
dressing for  their  impiety  and  wickedness,  with  sar- 
castic remarks  on  their  worthiness  to  be  delivered,  as 
was  Hezekiah  of  old— a  parallel  drawn  between  their 
ancient  Assyrian  enemies  and  the  Romans,  very 
much  to  the  advantage  of  the  latter — bold  assertions 


HISTORY-   PERVERTED.  133 

that  former  generations  had  been  delivered  only  be- 
cause of  their  righteousness,  which  proved  the  speak- 
er's utter  ignorance  of  the  scriptures  ;  for  there  is 
not  a  declaration  more  frequently  repeated,  from 
Moses  to  the  last  prophet,  than  that  not  for  their 
sakes,  not  fbr  their  righteousness,  but  for  his  holy 
Name's  sake,  that  it  should  not  be  polluted  among 
the  heathen,  in  whose  sight  He  had  brought  them 
out,  did  the  LORD  continue  to  interpose  and  to  save 
his  people ;  and  that  in  like  manner,  and  for  the  same 
cause,  He  will  yet  finally  gather,  restore,  exalt,  and 
save  them. 

Josephus,  if  he  rightly  reports  himself,  went  on  re- 
proving and  reproaching  his  brethren  at  great 
length  ;  "  hard-hearted  wretches,"  "  insensible  crea- 
tures, and  more  stupid  than  stones,"  are  among  his 
persuasive  epithets.  He  finishes  by  denying  that  the 
necessary  involving  of  his  own  family,  his  mother, 
wife,  and  children,  who  were,  it  seems,  in  the  city, 
in  their  common  ruin,  had  led  him  to  address  them ; 
he  gives  permission  to  the  Jews  to  kill  them,  and 
himself  also,  if  they  doubt  his  disinterestedness ;  at 
the  same  time  carefully  shielding  himself  from  the 
darts  that  were  cast  at  him  by  his  exasperated  hear- 
ers. He  spoke  with  a  loud  voice,  but  to  no  purpose  ; 
neither  to  fraud  nor  force  would  they  yield  their  city. 

There  were,  notwithstanding,  many  individual  de- 
sertions ;  many,  hoping  to  escape  the  last  miseries 
of  the  crisis  which  they  foresaw,  swallowed  their 
gold,  as  the  only  practicable  plan  of  concealment, 


134  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

and  flea  to  the  Romans.  Josephus  says  that  Titus 
allowed  "  a  great  many  of  them"  to  go  where  they 
pleased  about  the  country,  from  which  we  must  infer 
that  there  were  some,  and  probably  the  bulk  of  the 
number,  who  experienced  his  tender  mercies  in  pres- 
ent death,  or  more  cruel  slavery.  Even  the  privi- 
lege of  wandering  through  the  land  was  only  that  of 
falling  into  the  power  of  those  barbarous  legions 
who  now  wholly  occupied  it.  We  cannot  doubt  that 
some,  brought  back  to  God  by  the  fearful  calamities 
that  they  had  endured,  were  so  delivered,  and  found 
refuge  under  the  covert  of  His  wings  whose  faithful- 
ness and  truth  are  a  shield  and  buckler  to  all  that 
trust  in  Him.  As  to  the  barbarities  perpetrated  by 
the  armed  garrison  on  the  defenders  and  citizens, 
which  Josephus  gives  in  more  full  and  horrifying  de- 
tail after  they  had  rejected  with  contempt  and  indig- 
nation his  specious  interference,  we  say  nothing. 
The  testimony  is  altogether  that  of  a  bitter,  a  morti- 
fied, a  conscience-stricken  enemy,  to  whom  their  per- 
severing constancy  must  have  been  a  keen  reproach ; 
but  of  the  sufferings  endured  by  all  in  that  straitly- 
besieged  city  there  can  be  no  question;  the  most 
heart-rending  details  cannot  have  exaggerated  the 
reality.  The  only  incredible  thing  is  one  which, 
nevertheless,  we  are  compelled  to  believe,  that  one 
of  their  own  nation,  of  their  own  kindred,  one  who 
had  been  a  champion  of  their  cause,  and  had  also 
suffered  in  like  manner  in  defending  a  far  less  sacred 
post,  should  have  witnessed  it  all,  have  taken  par 


INCREDIBLE    RECITALS.  135 

with  their  merciless  butchers,  and  at  last  nave  sat 
down  coolly  to  record  the  tale  in  a  spirit  o  the  deep- 
est injustice  towards  them,  and  of  the  most  fawning 
sycophancy  towards  their  blood-stained  destroyers. 
12* 


136 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  horrors  that  befell  the  besieged  might  be  de- 
tailed in  other  language,  but  in  none  so  touching  as 
that  of  inspiration,  and  to  that  we  will  principally 
confine  ourselves.  The  words  of  the  prophet  Jere- 
miah are  not  historical  only,  they  are  clearly  pro- 
phetic, and  as  such  the  Jews  apply  them  to  the  more 
recent  desolation  of  their  city,  the  destruction  of  a 
Temple  that  was  to  lie  waste  for  many  generations. 
But  still  farther  back,  even  before  the  children  of 
Israel  had  seen  the  promised  land,  we  find  a  terri- 
ble description  of  what  was  in  the  far  distant  future, 
— the  immediate  precursor  of  a  dispersion  and  a  des- 
olation of  a  long,  long  continuance.  It  is  very  aw- 
ful to  read ;  alas  !  how  awful  to  know  that  to  the  strict- 
est letter  of  the  uttermost  denunciation  it  has  been 
actually  fulfilled ! 

In  the  twenty-eighth  chapter  of  Deuteronomy  is 
the  following  description  of  what,  nearly  fifteen  hun- 
dred years  afterwards,  was  inflicted  on  the  children 
of  Israel  under  the  proud  standard  of  the  Roman 
eagle : — "  The  LORD  shall  bring  a  nation  against  thee 
from  far,  from  the  end  of  the  earth,  as  the  eagle 
flieth ;  a  nation  whose  tongue  thou  shalt  not  under- 


AWFUL    PREDICTIONS.  137 

stand,  a  nation  of  fierce  countenance,  which  shall  not 
regard  the  person  of  the  old,  nor  show  favour  to  the 
young :  and  he  shall  eat  the  fruit  of  thy  cattle,  and 
the  fruit  of  thy  land,  until  thou  be  destroyed ;  which 
also  shall  not  leave  thee  either  corn,  wine,  or  oil,  or 
the  increase  of  thy  kine,  or  the  flocks  of  thy  sheep, 
until  he  have  destroyed  thee.  And  he  shall  besiege 
thee  in  all  thy  gates,  until  thy  high  and  fenced  walls 
come  down,  wherein  thou  trustedst,  throughout  all 
thy  land  which  the  LORD  thy  God  hath  given  thee." 

This  perfectly  describes  the  devastating  march  of 
the  Roman  enemy,  who  last  came  from  Britain,  the 
farthest  end  of  the  then  known  world.  As  they 
passed  along  the  country  of  Judoea,  their  consump- 
tion of  its  produce,  their  conquest  of  its  fenced  cities 
one  after  another,  the  pitiless  barbarity  with  which 
they  slaughtered  the  aged,  and  doomed  the  young 
to  sufferings  more  cruel,  because  more  protracted 
than  immediate  death,  together  with  the  crafty 
policy  that  systematically  left  a  wilderness  behind 
them  by  carefully  destroying  all  the  fruit  trees,  and 
burning  to  its  roots  the  produce  of  the  ground.  Then 
follows  their  final  conquest  over  the  last  attempt  at 
self-defence  in  Jerusalem. 

"  And  thou  shalt  eat  the  fruits  of  thine  own  body, 
the  flesh  of  thy  sons  and  of  thy  daughters,  which 
the  LORD  thy  God  hath  given  thee,  in  the  siege  and 
in  the  straitness  wherewith  thine  enemies  shall  dis- 
tress thee :  so  that  the  man  that  is  tender  among 
you,  and  very  delicate,  his  eye  shall  be  evil  toward 
his  brethren,  and  toward  the  wife  of  his  bosom,  and 


138  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

toward  the  remnant  of  his  children  which  he  shall 
have  ;  so  that  he  will  not  give  to  any  of  them  of  the 
flesh  of  his  children  whom  he  shall  eat :  because  he 
hath  nothing  left  him  in  the  siege,  and  in  the  strait- 
ness,  wherewith  thine  enemy  shall  distress  thee  in 
all  thy  gates.  The  tender  and  delicate  woman  among 
you,  which  would  not  endure  to  set  the  sole  of  her 
foot  upon  the  ground  for  delicateness  and  tenderness, 
her  eye  shall  be  evil  toward  the  husband  of  her 
bosom,  and  toward  her  son,  and  toward  her  daughter, 
and  toward  her  young  one  that  cometh  out  from  be- 
tween her  feet,  and  toward  her  children  which  she 
Bhall  bear :  for  she  shall  eat  them  for  want  of  all 
things,  secretly,  in  the  siege  and  straitness,  where- 
with thine  enemy  shall  distress  thee  in  thy  gates." 

Better  in  the  LORD'S  own  solemn  words  to  describe 
what  He  had  foreshown,  than  to  dwell  on  the  appal- 
ling details  of  their  exact  fulfilment,  by  one  who 
looked  on  the  smitten  flock  with  the  eye  of  an 
enemy.  We  need  no  evidence  to  assure  us  that 
every  particular  prediction  was  accomplished;  for 
what  word  of  the  Most  High  ever  fell  or  can  fall  to 
the  ground  ?  That  it  was  a  literal  and  not  a  figu- 
rative description,  we  have  abundant  proof;  and, 
blessed  be  the  holy  name  of  the  Eternal !  we  surely 
know  that  literal  and  not  figurative  are  the  glorious 
promises  yet  to  be  fulfilled  to  the  same  Israel ! 

Jeremiah  thus  grievingly  laments  over  the  vision 
of  past  and  future  calamities  blended  in  one : — 

"  The  precious  sons  of  Zion,  comparable  to  fine 


PROPHETIC  LAMENTATION.         139 

gold,  how  are  they  esteemed  as  earthen  pitchers,  the 
work  of  the  hands  of  the  potter  ! 

"  Even  the  sea-monsters  draw  out  the  breast ;  they 
give  suck  to  their  young  ones  : 

"  The  daughter  of  my  people  is  become  cruel,  like 
the  ostrich  in  the  wilderness. 

"  The  tongue  of  the  sucking  child  cleaveth  to  the 
roof  of  his  mouth  for  thirst : 

"  The  young  children  ask  bread,  and  no  man 
breaketh  it  unto  them. 

"  They  that  did  feed  delicately  are  desolate  in  the 
streets ; 

"  They  that  were  brought  up  in  scarlet  embrace 
dunghills. 

'  For  the  punishment  of  the  iniquity  of  the  daugh- 
ter of  my  people  is  greater  than  the  punishment  of 
the  sin  of  Sodom, 

"  That  was  overthrown  in  a  moment,  and  no  hands 
stayed  on  her. 

"  Her  Nazarites  were  purer  than  snow,  they  were 
whiter  than  milk, 

"  They  were  more  ruddy  in  body  than  rubies, 
their  polishing  was  of  sapphire  : 

"  Their  visage  is  blacker  than  a  coal ;  they  are 
not  known  in  the  streets : 

"  Their  skin  cleaveth  to  their  bones :  it  is  withered 
it  is  become  like  a  stick. 

"  They  that  be  slain  with  the  sword  are  better 
than  they  that  be  slain  with  hunger 

"  For  these  pine  away,  stricken  through  for  want 
of  the  fruits  of  the  field. 


.  40  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

"  The  hands  of  the  pitiful  women  have  sodden 
their  own  children : 

"  They  were  their  meat  in  the  destruction  of  the 
daughter  of  my  people> 

"  The  LORD  hath  accomplished  his  fury ;  He  hath 
poured  out  his  fierce  anger, 

"  And  hath  kindled  a  fire  in  Zion,  and  it  hath  de- 
voured the  foundations  thereof. 

"  The  kings  of  the  earth,  and  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  world  would  not  have  believed, 

"  That  the  adversary  and  the  enemy  should  have 
entered  into  the  gates  of  Jerusalem." 

Such  is  the  strain  of  an  inspired  Jew,  sensible  of 
the  sin  of  his  people,  and  justifying  the  LORD  for  all 
the  terrible  things  that  He  had  done  upon  them ;  we 
cannot  place  beside  it  the  language  of  an  apostate 
Jew,  whose  heart  was  steeled  by  pride,  covetousness. 
and  ambition,  to  look  upon  the  agonizing  spectacle, 
and  insult  the  victims.  Suffice  it,  then,  to  say,  that 
to  this  extremity  were  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem 
reduced  when  Titus  proceeded,  with  his  extensive 
embankment,  to  encircle  the  remaining  wall.  And 
now  we  have  to  record  an  instance  of  such  hideous 
cruelty  and  wrong  as  never,  perhaps,  stained  the 
pages  of  any  history.  Multitudes  of  the  poorest,  the 
most  peaceable,  the  most  helpless  class  within  the 
city,  being  reduced  to  absolute  starvation,  were 
driven  to  the  desperate  venture  of  stealing  out  of  the 
gates  to  gather  a  little  of  the  herbage,  and  such  re- 
fuse as  they  could  find  beyond  the  walls,  with  which 
to  feed  their  famishing  parents  or  children.  They 


FIENDISH   BARBARITY.  141 

had  no  intention  to  desert,  preferring  to  cast  in  their 
lot  to  the  last  with  their  nation,  and  to  abide  by 
the  stones  of  Zion ;  but  they  were  frequently  dis- 
covered and  seized  by  the  savage  soldiery,  against 
whom  they  would  have  defended  themselves  and  es- 
caped back  to  the  city,  but  they  were  too  weak  for 
the  struggle.  "  So,"  says  Josephus,  "  they  were  first 
whipped,  then  tortured  with  all  sorts  of  tortures  be- 
fore they  died,  and  then  crucified  before  the  wall  of 
the  city."  He  adds,  that  Titus  greatly  pitied  them ; 
but  they  caught  five  hundred  or  more  every  day, 
and  because  he  neither  thought  it  prudent  to  let 
them  go,  nor  could  afford  a  sufficient  guard  to  keep 
them  safe,  he  sanctioned  it  all.  It  would  naturally 
be  asked,  Why,  then,  not  slay  them  at  once,  with  a 
speedy  death?  Josephus  answers,  "that  he  hoped 
the  Jews  might,  perhaps,  yield  at  that  sight,  out  of 
fear  lest  they  might  themselves  afterwards  be  liable 
to  the  same  cruel  treatment."  He  adds,  concerning 
his  new  allies,  patrons,  friends,  and  companions,  the 
Romans,  that  out  of  their  wrath  and  hatred  against 
the  Jews,  they  invented  new  ways  of  nailing  them 
up,  by  way  of  jest,  when  the  multitude  was  so  great 
that  room  was  wanting  for  the  crosses,  and  crosses 
for  bodies.  All  this  was  superintended  by  Titus ;  a 
wretch  whom  it  is  the  fashion  for  historians  to  exalt 
as  a  very  model  of  all  magnanimous  virtues ;  the 
emperor  who,  when  he  had  done  no  good  deed  since 
morning,  is  said  to  have  wept  over  a  lost  day !  He 
could  look  upon  a  spectacle  like  this,  the  utmost  ex~ 
tremity  of  unutterable  torture  inflicted  on  fathers 


142  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

who  came  forth  to  glean  a  handful  of  grass  or  weeds 
to  stay  the  cries  of  their  famishing  children — sons 
who  so  adventured  their  lives  to  prolong  for  a  day 
the  existence  of  an  aged  mother — and,  no  doubt, 
women  and  children  also ;  for  when  did  Rome,  pa- 
gan or  papal,  spare  age  or  sex  ?  Least  of  all,  when 
did  she  show  mercy  to  a  Jew  ?  Her  blood-stained 
hands  had  crucified  the  King ;  and  now  on  the  same 
spot,  she  crucified  the  subjects  who,  alas  !  had  re- 
jected his  gentle  rule,  who  would  have  delivered 
them  from  her,  and  from  every  foe.  Not  that  the 
individuals,  who  suffered  these  enormities,  could,  to 
any  extent,  have  been  accessary  to  the  deed ;  for 
that  generation  must  have  well  nigh  passed  away ; 
and  out  of  them  an  immense  multitude  had  been 
brought  to  believe  in  Him.  Crucifixion  was  a  Ro- 
man death ;  Rome  was  the  executioner ;  and  in  the 
day  of  the  Lord's  vengeance  against  the  Daughter 
of  Babylon,  that  scene  of  horror  will  not  be  for- 
gotten. 

The  impression  produced  on  those  within  the  city 
was  what  any  rational  mind  must  have  foreseen. 
The  walls  were  thronged  with  the  multitudes  who 
came,  and  who  brought  their  less  resolute  fellows,  to 
witness  what  would  be  the  fate  of  such  as  should  fall 
into  the  hands  of  enemies  who  knew  not  what  mercy 
meant.  That  spectacle  nerved  them  to  endure  the 
utmost  extremities  of  suffering,  famine,  pestilence, 
and  the  sword,  rather  than  yield  themselves  and  their 
little  ones  into  the  hands  of  the  Roman.  Some,  in- 
deed, there  still  were,  who  deluded  themselves  with 


EFFECT    ON   THE   JEWS.  143 

the  idle  hope  of  finding  pity  among  those  iron  le- 
gions ;  and,  in  the  agonies  of  hunger,  they  placed 
themselves  within  their  grasp ;  preferring,  if  so  it 
must  be,  the  tortures  of  an  hour,  to  the  wasting  death 
of  days.  Titus,  however,  devised  a  new  species  of 
punishment  for  these  ;  he  ordered  their  hands  to  be 
cut  off,  and  so  rendering  them  incapable  of  any  fur- 
ther defensive  operations,  sent  them  back  to  the  com- 
manders, Simon  and  John,  with  this  exhortation, 
That  they  would  now  at  length  leave  off  their  mad- 
ness, and  not  force  him  to  destroy  the  city ;  promis- 
ing, that  by  so  doing,  they  should  enjoy  the  advan- 
tage of  saving  their  own  lives,  and  preserving  their 
fine  city,  and  that  Temple  which  was  peculiarly 
theirs.  What  confirmation  the  bleeding  stumps  of 
their  mangled  brethren  might  add  to  this  idle  mes- 
sage, it  is  hard  to  say.  Titus  certainly  never 
dreamed  of  mercy  to  the  Jews ;  but  of  course  he 
wished  to  capture  the  city  in  all  its  proud  beauty ; 
and  to  enshrine  some  of  his  demon-gods  within  the 
magnificent  courts  of  the  LORD'S  house.  What 
heart  but  must  rejoice  that  the  impious  pagan  was 
baffled,  though,  thereby,  not  one  stone  was  left  upon 
another  of  all  that  gorgeous  and  hallowed  pile ! 

With  all  the  impatience  of  a  hungry  vulture 
wheeling  round  its  destined  prey,  this  Titus  now 
made  the  circuit  of  the  city,  examining  his  banks, 
and  hastening  the  willing  labourers.  At  every  point 
he  was  assailed  with  tones  of  defiance  from  the 
walls.  The  Israelites  told  him  that  they  did  well  in 
preferring  death  to  slavery;  and  would  to  the  last 
13 


144  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

persevere  in  resisting  his  bands-,  doing  them  all  the 
mischief  in  their  power.  For  their  own  city,  they 
said,  they  had  no  concern,  since  he  told  them  that 
they,  the  nation,  were  themselves  to  be  destroyed : 
and  that  God  had,  in  the  world  itselfj  a  nobler  tem- 
ple than  that  on  Mount  Moriah.  To  this  they  added, 
that,  nevertheless,  the  Temple  would  be  preserved 
by  Him  who  inhabited  it,  who  was  still  their  help ; 
and  their  confidence  in  whom  enabled  them  to  laugh 
at  all  his  threatenings.  So  far  their  words  were 
made  good,  that  into  no  enemy's  hand  was  that  sa- 
cred Temple  given :  no  power  of  man  did,  or  could, 
or  can,  prevail  to  make  Israel  cease  from  being  a 
nation  before  God ;  and  the  happy  issue  out  of  all 
affliction  which  they  fondly  hoped,  in  their  own  per- 
sons, to  experience,  is  reserved  for  their  children's 
children,  after  many  generations.  As  individuals, 
alas  !  the  LORD  had  forsaken  them  :  as  a  nation,  He 
never,  never  will. 

The  Roman  embankment  was  completed  after 
seventeen  days'  incessant  labour,  consisting  of  four 
great  lines,  the  principal  of  which  was  against  the 
tower  Antonia ;  and  here  the  engines  were  about  to 
be  brought,  with  the  certainty  of  speedily  accom- 
plishing, by  them,  the  downfall  of  the  bulwarks,  shel- 
tered as  they  would  be  by  the  banks.  Meanwhile 
the  Jews  had  prosecuted,  from  within,  a  plan  of 
which  the  assailants  little  dreamed.  John  directed 
a  mine  to  be  carried  out  from  the  vicinity  of  the 
tower  to  the  distance  at  which  the  enemy  were  pre- 
paring to  erect  their  heavy  works  j  and  this  he  ceiled 


ROME    BAFFLED    AGAIN.  145 

with  "beams  of  timber,  to  afford  it  a  temporary  sta- 
bility, while  he  filled  the  interior  with  combustibles 
of  every  kind.  The  Romans,  exulting  in  the  com- 
pletion of  their  preparations,  stood  ready  for  the  as- 
sault, when  suddenly  a  subterranean  fire  seized  on 
the  treacherous  foundations  of  their  vaunted  handy- 
work  ;  the  ground  clave  asunder,  and  in  that  yawn- 
ing chasm  their  banks  disappeared,  amid  a  cloud  of 
smoke,  and  ashes,  and  whirling  dust  that  for  a  time 
smothered  the  flame ;  but  this,  fed  by  the  timber 
that  with  so  much  toil  they  had  collected  to  pile 
against  the  royal  city,  speedily  burst  forth,  in  one 
broad,  bright,  intense  sheet  of  glowing  fire — so  strange, 
so  inexplicable  in  its  origin,  that  the  superstitious 
legions  recoiled  in  dismay,  and  Rome's  proud  war- 
riors stood  aghast  before  the  terrific  apparition. 
Even  when  the  stratagem  became  evident,  no  at- 
tempt was  made  on  their  part  to  extinguish  the 
flames,  for  they  had  nothing  to  rescue.  The  trunks 
of  Judea's  stately  trees,  dragged  by  their  sacrilegi- 
ous hands  to  act  against  the  parent  mountain,  were 
already  ascending  in  sparkles  of  triumphant  fire,  or 
hurling  their  ignited  fragments  into  the  enemy's 
camp.  Their  banks  were  fallen ;  many  of  their  mur- 
derous machines  shared  the  same  fate ;  and  they 
could  but  scowl  upon  the  Jews,  and  curse  them  by 
their  gods,  and  whet  to  the  keenest  edge  their  venge- 
ful purposes  against  the  prey  thus  again  for  a  while 
delivered  out  of  their  teeth. 

In  another  quarter,  however,  the  enemy  had  suc- 
ceeded in  commencing  their  assault,  causing  the  an- 


146  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

cient  wall  to  tremble  beneath  their  strokes :  here  no 
mine  had  been  prepared,  nor  was  any  defensive 
operation  practicable,  so  far  as  the  assailants  could 
calculate,  but  again  were  their  calculations  set  at 
naught  by  the  impetuous  daring  of  the  Jews.  Three 
individuals,  Tephtheus,  a  Galilean,  Megassarus,  and 
Chagiras,  seeing  the  impression  made  by  the  battering- 
rams,  seized  torches,  and  sallying  from  the  wall,  ran 
directly  up  to  the  Roman  host,  "  not,"  says  Josephus, 
"  as  if  they  were  enemies,  but  friends  :  without  fear 
or  delay."  Rushing  violently  through  the  midst  of 
the  soldiers,  who  seemed  to  have  been  rendered 
powerless  by  astonishment,  and  perhaps  somewhat 
unnerved  by  the  recent  catastrophe  of  the  mine, 
they  reached  the  engines,  and  set  them  in  a  blaze. 
By  this  time  the  enemy  had  so  far  recovered  from 
their  strange  panic  as  to  assail  the  gallant  triumvi- 
rate with  sword,  spear,  and  dart ;  but  in  vain ;  no- 
thing moved,  nothing  daunted  them :  they  held  fast 
by  the  machines,  and  ignited  them  in  various  places, 
until  such  a  flame  went  up,  as  brought  the  Romans 
in  great  force  from  their  camp  to  quench  it ;  while 
the  Jews,  with  equal  alacrity,  hastened  to  the  help 
of  their  brethren.  A  desperate  conflict  ensued,  car- 
ried on  in  the  very  fire ;  for  the  light  hurdles  that 
covered  the  engines  were  in  a  blaze,  together  with 
the  wood-work  of  the  machines;  and  the  very  iron 
became  heated  to  an  intensity  that  rendered  it  dan- 
gerous to  touch ;  yet  on  this  heated  metal  the  heroic 
Jews  mantamed  their  grasp,  while,  nearly  suffocated 
with  dust  and  smoke,  and  no  doubt  unpleasantly  a£ 


EXPLOITS    OF    THE   JEWS.  147 

fected  by  the  scorching  heat  communicated  to  their 
iron  mail,  the  Romans  bent  all  their  strength  to  drag 
away  the  frames  of  their  machines  from  the  confla- 
gration. The  battering-rams  were  the  principal  ob- 
jects of  this  extraordinary  contest :  they  had  caused 
the  towers  of  Zion's  wall  to  shake,  and  this  fact  ren- 
dered them  by  far  the  most  important  prize,  alike  to 
those  who  sought  to  save,  and  to  those  who  laboured 
to  destroy. 

The  conflict  waxed  fiercer:  success  inspired  the 
Jews  with  an  ardour  that  nothing  might  withstand; 
and  the  Romans,  confounded  by  the  nature  of  the 
attack,  blinded  with  the  sparkling  flames,  which  now 
almost  surrounded  them,  as  one  engine  after  another 
was  caught  by  the  devouring  element,  at  length  re- 
treated towards  their  camp.  This  was  the  signal 
for  renewed  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  defenders  of 
the  holy  city ;  they  rushed  down  in  greater  numbers 
from  the  walls,  and  never  pausing  in  their  career 
until  they  reached  the  verge  of  the  camp,  fought 
hand  to  hand  with  the  guards  who  were  there  posted 
in  advance.  Josephus,  who  had  no  word  of  pity  for 
the  famishing  sufferers,  his  own  brethren  tortured  to 
death  by  those  same  ferocious  soldiers  at  the  rate  of 
five  hundred  a  day,  pathetically  notices  the  hard 
case  of  the  murderers,  who,  by  Rome's  martial  law, 
were  compelled,  on  peril  of  a  military  execution,  to 
hold  their  posts ;  and  who,  therefore,  had  to  sustain 
the  onset  of  those  fiery  Jews,  not  daring  to  run  away. 
It  cannot  be  doubted  that  many  of  them  fell  under 
the  impetuous  assault ;  and  sympathy  for  them  drew 
13* 


148  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

out  reinforcements  from  the  panic-stricken  host, 
whom  the  Jews  also  engaged,  laughing  to  scorn 
alike  the  cuirass,  the  shield,  and  the  spear,  that 
vainly  sought  to  withstand  the  power  of  their  arms, 
who  were  comparatively  naked.  O  Israel,  who  was 
like  unto  thee,  when  of  old  the  LORD  thy  God  was 
with  thee,  and  the  shout  of  a  King  was  amongst 
thee  !  Forsaken  as  thou  wert,  in  that  day  of  venge- 
ful calamity,  there  were  still  gleams  and  flashes  of 
a  fire  that  once  burned  brightly  and  gloriously,  suf- 
ficient to  prove  what  thine  arm  could  have  wrought, 
if  that  blessing  had  then  been  upon  thee  which 
caused  thine  enemies,  that  rose  up  against  thee,  to 
be  smitten  before  thy  face.  "  They  shall  come  out 
against  thee  one  way,  and  flee  before  thee  seven 
ways." 

Titus,  the  evil  angel  of  Judah,  commissioned  to 
destroy,  now  arrived  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  found 
his  host  hard  beset  in  defending  their  own  walls,  in- 
stead of  pursuing  the  destruction  of  those  which 
they  came  to  overthrow.  He,  as  usual,  reproached 
them,  rousing  to  the  utmost  the  diabolical  spirit  of 
pride  and  vain-glory,  that  formed  the  main-spring  of 
Roman  action ;  at  the  same  time,  with  his  fresh 
squadron  of  selected  warriors,  he  turned  the  flank  of 
the  Israelites,  and  attacked  them  in  their  rear.  They 
instantly  faced  round,  and  threw  themselves  upon 
these  new  assailants  ;  continuing  the  fight  with  un- 
abated courage.  Josephus  acknowledges  that,  sur- 
rounded as  now  they  were,  "the  Jews  did  not 
flinch."  It  is  amazing  to  contemplate  the  scene  j  a 


JEWISH   HEROISM.  149 

handful  of  half-famished  men,  whose  days  had  been 
passed  in  weariness,  their  nights  in  watching ;  who 
had  beheld  their  isolated  city,  the  only  one  of  all 
Judea's  stately  bulwarks  yet  standing,  encompassed 
by  an  enemy  that  had  subdued  the  world,  and  al- 
ready having  her  threefold  barrier  reduced  to  a  sin- 
gle line  of  fortifications— such  a  band  as  this,  volun- 
tarily forsaking  their  protecting  wall,  and  giving  bat- 
tle to  the  whole  host  of  the  enemy,  with  Titus  at 
their  head  !  How  comes  it  that,  while  each  calum- 
nious tale  recorded  by  the  hireling  of  the  foe,  cal- 
culated to  excite  horror  against  the  defenders  of 
Jerusalem,  is  so  preserved  and  circulated  that  every 
child  has  it  by  rote ;  we  scarcely  hear  of  what,  in 
any  other  name,  would  be  the  theme  of  universal 
admiration  and  respect — the  unbounded  self-devo- 
tion of  these  dauntless  Jews  ?  Among  the  myriad 
pilgrims,  who  throng  the  holy  city,  how  comes  it 
that  we  hear  from  none  of  any  search  after  the  spot 
where  John's  mine  swallowed  up  the  Roman  banks, 
or  where  the  three  bold  brethren  fired  the  battering- 
rams,  and  routed  the  Roman  host,  and  carried,  the 
battle  into  the  Roman  camp  1  But  it  is  vain  to  ask: 
the  mouth  of  the  LORD  had  spoken  a  sentence  of 
long-continued  odium  and  contempt  to  rest  upon  his 
ancient  people ;  and  what  He  had  so  spoken  He 
hath  so  fulfilled.  But  another  word  remains  to  re- 
ceive its  full  accomplishment;  and  in  despite  of 
every  effort  that  man  may  make  to  perpetuate  it,  the 
rebuke  of  his  people  will  He  now  take  away  from 
off  the  face  of  all  the  earth. 


150  JTJD.EA    CAPTA. 

The  battle  raged  long  and  sternly  after  Titus  had 
assumed  the  command :  smoke,  and  fire,  and  dust  so 
confused  the  eyes,  while  a  discord  of  loud,  fierce 
tones  bewildered  the  hearing  of  the  combatants, 
that  all  order  was  lost :  and  it  is  plain,  from  the 
cautious  account  of  Josephus,  that  the  Romans  did 
considerable  execution  upon  each  other  in  that  con- 
fused melee.  The  banks  were  demolished,  the  en- 
gines damaged  to  a  great  extent ;  and  the  Jews, 
having  succeeded  to  the  utmost  of  their  most  san- 
guine desires,  withdrew  within  their  walls,  buoyed 
up,  no  doubt,  with  hopes  that,  alas  for  Zion  !  were  not 
to  be  realized. 

A  council  of  war  was  called,  the  result  of  which 
was  in  accordance  with  the  suggestion  of  Titus,  and 
displays,  in  a  striking  point  of  view,  at  once  the  mul- 
titude, the  strength,  the  resources,  and  the  ardour 
of  those  who  fought  aga:nst  Jerusalem.  It  was  de- 
termined to  encompass  the  whole  city  with  a  wall, 
carried  round  at  a  short  distance  from  that  which 
defended  her ;  and  thus  to  preclude  the  possibility 
of  escape  from  within,  or  of  supplies  from  without 
Josephus  describes  the  soldiers  B.S  being  seized  with 
a  certain  "  divine  "  fury ;  and  for  a  specimen  of  that 
which  in  the  historian's  mind  was  regarded  as  di- 
vine, we  will  give  his  own  description  of  this  pecu- 
liar inspiration.  "  Each  soldier  was  ambitious  to 
please  his  decurion;  each  decurion  his  centurion; 
each  centurion  his  tribune ;  and  the  ambition  of  the 
tribune  was  to  please  their  superior  commanders, 
while  Caesar  himself  took  notice  of,  and  rewarded 


AFFLICTED  AND  DESOLATE.         151 

the  like  contention  in  those  commanders."  Titus, 
the  invader  of  his  country,  the  murderer  of  his  kin- 
dred, was,  indeed,  the  god  of  Josephus :  Judaism  in- 
dignantly disclaims  the  heartless  apostate ;  and  if, 
after  all  that  has  been  culled,  and  all  that  is  yet  to 
cull,  from  his  book,  Christianity  chooses  to  adopt 
him,  we  can  only  enter  our  most  strenuous  protest 
against  it,  as  one  of  the  foulest  blots  that  can  be  cast 
upon  our  most  holy  faith. 

Under  the  "  divine  "  inspiration,  claimed  for  them 
by  their  eulogist,  the  Romans  actually  accomplished 
in  three  days  what  might  well  have  been  the  work 
of  months,  and  built  their  fatal  wall.  It  commenced 
at  the  camp  of  Titus,  now  pitched  in  front  of  the 
tower  Antonia,  and  crossing  the  valley  of  the  Ke- 
dron,  ran  southward  along  the  Mount  of  Olives ; 
thence  recrossed  the  valley  at  Siloam ;  bent  round 
Zion,  and  returned  again  to  the  general's  camp. 
Garrisoned  at  convenient  distances,  and  patrolled  by 
alternate  watches  throughout  the  night,  while  by 
day  it  commanded  an  unbroken  view  of  every 
stone  in  Jerusalem's  last  fortification,  this  enclosure 
quenched  the  only  surviving  hope  in  the  breasts  of 
the  unhappy  Jews,  save  as  many  among  them  still 
looked  for  the  stretching  forth  of  that  Almighty  arm 
which  had  so  often  crushed  the  pride  of  Israel's  foes, 
and  caused  their  most  formidable  power  to  melt 
away  in  a  moment.  The  scene  that  ensued,  when 
no  foot  could  pass  the  beleaguered  wall  of  their 
city,,  when  no  morsel  could  be  cropped,  even  of  the 
rank  grass  and  herbage  that  sprung  up  beneath  its 


152 


JUD/GA    CAPTA. 


shadow,  nourished  by  the  human  decomposition 
evermore  going  on,  where  death>  in  every  possible 
shape,  stalked  abroad — the  terrible  reality  of  literal 
fulfilment;  where  the  language  of  prophecy  would 
seem  most  highly  figurative — all  this  we  will  pass 
over  in  silence.  Let  those,  in  whose  bosoms  exists 
a  portion  of  the  spirit  of  Edom,  of  Babylon,  of  thrice- 
accursed  Rome,  pause  on  the  terrible  spectacle,  the 
outpouring  of  God's  wrath  upon  a  people  scourged 
beyond  all  others,  because  beyond  all  others  they 
were  beloved  and  favoured.  We  will  not  prowl  the 
streets,  nor  pry  into  the  dwellings  of  thy  agonized 
children,  O  Jerusalem,  when  thou  drankest  at  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  the  dregs  of  the  cup  of  his  fury ; 
rather  will  we  take  our  seat  beneath  some  lonely 
olive,  on  that  overhanging  mountain,  and  weep 
where  Jesus  wept :  for  the  day  is  come  ;  thine  ene 
mies  have  cast  a  trench  about  thee,  and  now  they 
compass  thee  round  and  keep  thee  in  on  every  side ; 
and  presently  they  will  lay  thee  even  with  the 
ground,  and  thy  children  within  thee ;  yea,  they 
sshall  not  leave  in  thee  one  stone  upon  another,  be- 
cause thou  knewest  not  the  day  of  thy  visitation  ! 


THE   ENCOMPASSING   WALL.  153 


CHAPTER  XII. 

OF  those  who  perished  in  the  famine,  Josephus 
records  that  every  one  of  them  "  died  with  their 
eyes  fixed  upon  the  Temple."  Their  black  and 
shrunken  bodies  were  necessarily  cast  out,  no  room 
being  left  to  bury  them,  and  there  they  lay  piled  up 
in  the  valleys  of  Jehoshaphat  and  of  Hinnom.  A 
story  is  then  told  of  the  merciless  Titus,  that  must 
not  be  passed  over :  he  had  overruled  the  opinions 
of  others  in  the  council  of  war,  who  recommended 
a  sudden  storming  of  the  city  by  the  whole  host, 
and  carried  his  own  project  of  this  encompassing 
wall,  on  the  express  grounds  that  by  so  shutting  in 
the  inhabitants  they  should  destroy  them  by  famine ; 
BO  avoiding  the  hazard  to  themselves  of  a  military 
assault,  and  hastening  the  inevitable  fall  of  the  de- 
populated city.  This  is  recorded  by  Josephus,  in 
the  preceding  page  to  that  in  which  he  tells  how 
Titus,  in  going  his  rounds  along  those  valleys,  see- 
ing them  choked  up  with  dead  bodies,  and  thick 
streams  of  putrefaction  rolling  over  the  ground,  ut- 
tered a  groan :  and  spreading  out  his  hands  to  hea- 
ven, called  GOD  to  witness  that  this  was  not  his 
doing.  Unhappy  wretch !  had  he  reluctantly  ful 


154  JUD^A    CAPTA.. 

filled  his  dire  commission,  had  he  even  mingled  with 
its  terrible  offices  a  touch  of  pity,  employing  the  un- 
bounded influence  that  he  exercised  over  his  army 
to  restrain,  in  some  measure,  the  savage  wantonness 
of  their  barbarity,  some  credit  might  be  given  to  this 
burst  of  feeling,  as  the  genuine  expression  of  regret 
at  what  he  could  not  wholly  prevent :  but  we  have 
seen  him  as  he  was,  even  when  decked  out  by  his 
fulsome  flatterer,  whose  utmost  art  could  not  wholly 
conceal  the  hideous  features  of  his  sanguinary  char- 
acter ;  and  if  this  exclamation  really  escaped  his 
lips,  if  the  obtestation  was  addressed,  not  to  one  of 
the  Roman  demons,  but  to  the  God  of  Israel,  surely 
it  was  wrung  forth  by  some  terrible,  though  but  mo- 
mentary vision  of  the  future,  when  He,  whose  holy 
presence  once  made  that  mount  so  glorious,  shall 
call  to  a  fearful  account  those  of  every  age,  and  of 
every  form  of  worship,  who  have  found  their  own 
pleasure  in  helping  forward  the  affliction  of  Israel. 

In  the  judgment  of  that  day.  many  a  mighty 
prince,  and  potentate,  and  pontiff,  shall  stand  side 
by  side  with  Titus,  to  receive  a  doom,  aggravated 
in  proportion  to  the  light  enjoyed  by  each ;  and  this 
we  must  concede,  that  the  blind  and  barbarous  pa- 
gan may  advance  a  mitigating  plea  untenable  by 
many  others.  When  he  came  up  against  them, 
they  were  still  a  mighty  and  a  warlike  people,  en- 
closed by  towers  and  battlements,  and  dwelling  in 
fortresses  by  nature  almost  impregnable.  He  as- 
sailed not,  nor  opposed  them,  as  a  poor  weak,  scat- 
tered remnant,  spread  abroad  over  the  whole  earth, 


A   SOLEMN    CONTRAST.  155 

not  one  spot  of  which  they  could  call  their  own :  he 
pursued  them  not  with  that  Bible  in  his  hand,  or 
with  the  knowledge  of  it  in  his  mind,  which  declares 
the  love  of  God  unto  them  from  of  old,  and  his  future 
purposes  of  everlasting  mercy  on  them.  He  slaugh- 
tered them  not  with  the  faith  of  Christ  on  his  lips ; 
nor  coveted  their  Holy  City  that  he  might  make  it 
the  seat  of  foul  idolatry  in  the  name  of  Him  to  whom 
all  idolatry  is  an  abomination.  To  the  stern  Roman 
murderer  must  belong  the  judgment  without  mercy 
denounced  on  him  who  hath  showed  no  mercy.  But 
what  shall  be  said  to  the  herd  of  kings,  and  emper- 
ors, and  popes,  who  in  hypocritical  wickedness,  or 
sinful  ignorance,  have  trodden  down  the  remnant  of 
God's  suffering  people  in  the  name  of  Him  whose 
law  can  only  be  fulfilled  by  love ;  and  who  has 
taught  us,  before  all  others,  to  love  and  to  serve  the 
Jew? 

.  But  to  return.  Notwithstanding  the  tender  com- 
miseration of  their  general,  we  are  told  that  the 
Romans  were  very  joyful ;  and  that  having  great 
abundance  of  provision  from  Syria,  and  from  the 
neighbouring  provinces,  they  would  bring  and 
spread  it  out  near  the  wall,  in  the  sight  of  the  starv- 
ing, dying  Jews,  by  such  a  horrible  refinement  of 
cruelty  to  aggravate  their  sufferings.  But  it  pro- 
duced no  visible  effect :  the  thought  of  yielding 
never  seems  to  have  entered  their  minds ;  and  Ti- 
tus, impatient  at  the  protracted  defence,  set  his  fol- 
lowers to  work  in  reconstructing  embankments  over 
against  the  tower  of  Antonia,  the  key  to  the  whole 
14 


156  JUD.EA   CAPTA. 

city.  This  was  not  easily  done,  for  the  trees  around 
Jerusalem  had  already  fallen  under  the  Roman  axe, 
and  yielded  fuel  to  the  conflagrations  of  the  daring 
Jews.  However,  they  managed  to  collect  a  suffi- 
cient number  by  desolating  the  country  at  a  wider 
range ;  and  thus,  in  barbarous  ignorance,  while  ful- 
filling the  doom  long  before  denounced  on  the  LORD'S 
heritage,  they  also  inflicted  that  of  sterility  on  the 
land,  which  still  lieth  desolate  in  the  enjoyment  of 
her  long,  long  sabbaths. 

A  plot  was  laid  by  an  inferior  commander  named 
Judas,  to  deliver  the  tower  into  the  enemy's  hands : 
they,  however,  could  not  believe  that  in  reality  a 
Jew  was  so  disposed,  and  fearing  a  stratagem,  neg- 
lected to  avail  themselves  of  the  offer,  until  the 
spectacle  of  the  execution  of  the  intended  betrayers 
by  Simon,  who  had  discovered  the  conspiracy,  and 
who  threw  the  dead  bodies  down  among  them,  too 
late  convinced  the  Romans  of  what  they  had  lost. 
Meantime  Josephus,  taking  his  turn  as  a  patrol  round 
the  city,  was  wounded  in  the  head  by  a  stone  cast 
at  him  from  the  walls ;  and  the  joy  and  exultation 
that  ensued  on  the  supposition  of  his  death — for  he 
had  been  rescued  and  borne  away  senseless  by  some 
of  his  pagan  allies,  just  as  the  Jews  thought  to  seize 
on  him — prove  in  what  abhorrence  his  treason  was 
held.  This  incident  also,  no  doubt,  sharpened  the 
edge  of  his  hostility  against  his  brethren,  for  he  ex- 
patiates largely  on  the  alleged  crimes  of  their 
leaders,  and  of  the  whole  body  of  the  "  seditious"  as 
he  terms  all  who  preferred  death  to  the  surrender  ot 


MORE   ENORMITIES.  157 

their  city.  We  pass  this  over,  to  relate  one  more 
instance  of  what  they  had  to  expect  who  deser  ted3 
and  threw  themselves  upon  the  honour,  humanity,  or 
good  faith  of  the  Romans. 

Some  unhappy  deserters,  having  made  up  their 
minds  to  so  desperate  a  venture,  and  knowing  that 
gold  was  the  surest  key  to  Roman  favour,  swallowed 
as  much  as  they  could  of  the  precious,  but  now  in 
Jerusalem  useless  metal,  which  they  hoped  to  turn 
to  good  account  among  the  enemy.  The  sequel 
may  be  readily  anticipated :  a  discovery  of  the  con- 
trivance in  one  instance  led  to  the  immediate  ripping 
open  of  all  who  had  come  for  protection ;  and  Jose- 
phus  says,  that  in  one  night  two  thousand  of  these 
poor  creatures  were  thus  horribly  butchered.  They 
were  chiefly  Syrians  ;  and  had  escaped  by  jumping 
down  from  the  wall,  with  great  stones  in  their  hands, 
as  though  about  to  make  an  attack  on  the  enemy ;  to 
whom  they  ran  for  protection  when  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  Jewish  darts.  Great  numbers  died  at  once, 
through  the  ravenous  hunger  that  led  them  to  de- 
vour whatever  was  placed  before  them ;  their  fam- 
ished state  rendering  such  repletion  presently  fatal ; 
they  were  less  to  be  commiserated  than  the  survivors, 
reserved  to  a  most  dreadful  death,  under  the  hands 
of  the  noble  Romans,  whom  our  Christian  youth  are 
instructed  to  regard  as  rare  models  of  all  that  is 
grand  and  glorious  in  man !  Josephus,  it  is  true, 
fastens  the  chief  guilt  of  this  enormity  on  the  Ara- 
bians and  Syrians ;  but  he  admits  that  the  Roman 
soldiers  were  implicated  also ;  and  Titus  was  obli- 


158  JUD.EA    CAPTA. 

ged  to  menace  with  death  such  as  should  be  found 
guilty  of  it :  not  so  much  for  the  barbarity  of  the 
thing,  as  because  it  showed  that  their  allies  were 
enriching  themselves  at  their  own  pleasure ;  but  hia 
prohibition  was  of  little  avail;  the  practice  con- 
tinued, and  became  the  means  of  checking  the  de- 
sertion. 

John,  it  appears,  who  had  possession  of  the  Tem- 
ple, now  committed  what  Josephus  describes  as  a 
horrible  sacrilege :  he  took  some  of  the  sacred  stores 
of  wine  and  oil,  and  distributed  them  among  the 
perishing  people.  Whether  this  was  or  was  not  a 
justifiable  proceeding  is  not  for  us  to  determine :  un- 
der an  emergency  not  approaching  within  a  degree 
of  comparison  with  this,  David  took  and  distributed 
to  his  followers  the  bread  which  it  was  only  lawful 
for  the  priests  to  eat.  He  did  so  with  the  full  con- 
sent of  the  presiding  priest,  and  no  censure  is  re- 
corded. John  also  is  stated  to  have  melted  down 
for  his  own  use  some  of  the  golden  vessels  presented 
by  Gentile  princes  to  the  Temple :  what  benefit  he 
expected  to  derive  from  it,  when  no  sum  could  pur- 
chase a  mouthful  of  food,  it  is  hard  to  say ;  but  the 
pious  indignation  of  Josephus  is  so  kindled  by  it,  that 
he  says,  if  the  Romans  had  made  any  longer  delay 
in  coming  against  these  villains,  the  city  would  have 
been  swallowed  up  by  an  earthquake,  or  else  been 
overflowed  with  water,  or  destroyed  by  such  thun- 
der as  Sodom  perished  by.  He  also  relates  that 
the  deaths  by  starvation  among  the  poor  became  so 
numerous,  that  they  were  no  longer  able  to  throw 


EVIL    OVERRULED.  159 

them  over  the  wall,  but  laid  them  on  heaps  in  large 
houses,  and  shut  them  up.  He  says,  after  enumerating 
some  dreadful  effects  of  famine,  "  When  the  Romans 
barely  heard  all  this,  they  commiserated  their  case ; 
while  the  seditious,  who  saw  it  also,  did  not  repent, 
but  suffered  the  same  distress  to  come  upon  them- 
selves." As  to  the  extent  of  Roman  commiseration, 
we  leave  that  for  the  reader  to  determine  ;  the  sim- 
ple fact,  as  regarded  the  Jews,  was,  that  they  prefer- 
red death  by  hunger  to  the  horrible  tortures  inflicted 
by  these  Romans  on  all  whom  they  took  captive : 
tortures  proportioned  to  the  courage  and  constancy 
of  an  enemy  which,  had  they  possessed  one  atom  of 
the  virtues  imputed  to  them,  would  have  commanded 
their  respect.  Added  to  this  preference  was  a  fond 
hope  that  the  LORD  would  yet  interpose,  even  in 
their  uttermost  extremity,  on  behalf  of  the  city  and 
the  people  so  long  called  by  his  name. 

We  now  approach  the  last  sad  scenes  of  this  dire- 
ful tragedy,  and  must  strive  to  repress  the  bitter 
indignation  that  will  rise  while  following  the  cool 
description  given  by  this  apostate  Jew  of  events  that 
it  is  scarcely  possible  to  contemplate  even  in  the 
faintest  outline  that  can  be  sketched.  We  must  bear 
in  mind  that  but  for  the  almost  miraculous  harden- 
ing of  this  man's  heart  against  his  own  brethren, 
and  the  utter  alienation  of  his  spirit  from  the  land 
of  his  fathers,  in  defence  of  which  he  had  once 
fought  gallantly,  and  the  prostration  of  his  every 
feeling  of  independence  under  the  heel  of  a  Pagan 
whose  favour  he  gained  by  the  most  grovelling  syc- 
14* 


160  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

ophancy, — but  for  this,  Josephus  would  have  died  in 
the  battle,  a  champion  for  Israel,  and  we  should  pos- 
sess no  record  whatever  of  what  is  now  being  brought 
with  singular  force  to  all  men's  minds.  A  Roman 
historian  would  have  related  it  just  as  any  other 
war,  siege,  conquest,  and  desolation  carried  on  by  the 
great  and  terrible  Beast  is  recorded ;  and  we  could 
not  have  associated  with  the  tale  those  touching 
minutiae  that  identify  it  wholly  with  the  city  of  our 
God ;  the  race  of  Abraham ;  and  the  awful  predic- 
tions that  were  then  so  marvellously  fulfilled. 

Pestilence,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  followed 
upon  the  havoc  made  by  famine.  From  the  dead 
bodies  without  the  walls,  not  only  the  numbers  cast 
over  them  from  the  city,  but  the  thousands  of  victims 
murdered  by  the  cowardly  Romans,  an  effluvia  must 
have  arisen  sufficient  to  engender  disease  through- 
out the  whole  region :  but  when  to  this  we  add  the 
ghastly  piles  of  dead  enclosed  in  Z ion's  desolate 
palaces,  together  with  those  who  lay  unburied  and 
trampled  down  in  every  street  of  the  city,  now,  alas  ! 
too  truly  and  in  too  many  ways,  "  the  rebellious  city? 
the  bloody  city,"  we  may  conceive  the  effects,  in  that 
warm  climate,  as  being  horrible  indeed.  What 
must  that  knowledge  of  the  Roman  barbarity  have 
been  that  could  render  death  by  hunger  in  a  hideous 
charnel-house  preferable  to  any  chance  of  life  from 
a  successful  foe ! 

Titus  now  hastened  the  completion  of  his  em- 
bankment, heretofore  frustrated  by  the  enterprising 
determination  of  the  besieged ;  now  securely  per- 


THE  LAND  LYING  DESOLATE.        161 

fected  under  shelter  of  the  newly-built  wall.  To 
procure  timber  for  the  work  was  a  difficult  matter 
requiring  excursions  far  into  the  surrounding  dis- 
tricts ;  for  all  that  lay  near  had  already  been  de- 
nuded of  its  groves.  The  narrator  thus  describes 
the  prospect,  and  in  so  doing  accounts  for  the  pres- 
ent appearance  of  that  land,  so  unlike  the  scene 
presented  to  the  mind's  eye  of  him  who  has  only 
known  the  Jerusalem  and  Judsea  of  the  Bible :  for 
that  land  will  not,  cannot,  shall  not  yield  her  fruit- 
fulness,  nor  resume  the  verdant  robes  of  her  pristine 
beauty  for  any  but  the  seed  of  Jacob.  While  they 
are  outcast  and  despised,  she  lies  barren,  desolate, 
and  bare.  While  they  mourn,  she  will  not  smile ; 
neither  will  she  exchange  her  wilderness  garment 
for  that  of  the  garden  of  Eden,  until  from  the  high- 
est heaven  the  promised  word  shall  go  forth :  "  But 
ye,  O  mountains  of  Israel,  ye  shall  shoot  forth  your 
branches,  and  yield  your  fruit  to  my  people  Israel ; 
for  they  are  at  hand  to  come.  For  behold,  I  am 
for  you,  and  I  will  turn  unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be 
tilled  and  sown :  and  I  will  multiply  upon  you  all 
the  house  of  Israel,  even  all  of  it ;  and  the  cities 
shall  be  inhabited  and  the  wastes  shall  be  builded : 
and  I  will  multiply  upon  you  man  and  beast ;  and 
they  shall  increase  and  bring  forth  fruit :  and  I  will 
Bettle  you  after  your  old  estates,  and  will  do  better 
unto  you  than  at  your  beginnings :  and  ye  shall 
know  that  1  am  the  LORD."  O  GOD  of  Israel — the 
covenant-keeping  God  !  Redeemer  of  Jacob  !  has- 
ten the  fulfilment  of  this  blessed  word,  that  we,  even 


162  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

we,  now  and  in  our  own  day,  may  behold  thy  re- 
turn to  Zion  with  mercy  ! 

Thus  writes  the  eye-witness  of  Judaea's  over- 
throw :  "  Truly  the  very  view  of  the  country  was  a 
melancholy  thing ;  for  those  places  which  were  be- 
fore adorned  with  trees  and  pleasant  gardens,  were 
now  become  a  desolate  country  every  way ;  and  its 
trees  were  all  cut  down.  Nor  could  any  foreigner 
that  had  formerly  seen  Judaea,  and  the  most  beauti- 
ful suburbs  of  the  city,  and  now  saw  it  as  a  desert,  but 
lament  and  mourn  sadly  at  so  great  a  change,  for  the 
war  had  laid  all  the  signs  of  beauty  quite  waste. 
Nor  if  any  one  that  had  known  the  place  before  had 
come  on  a  sudden  to  it  now,  would  he  have  known 
it  again ;  but  though  he  were  at  the  city  itself,  yet 
would  he  have  inquired  for  it  notwithstanding." 
How  illustrative  is  this  remarkably  simple  and  art- 
less description  of  the  word  that  God  spake  by  Jere- 
miah :  "All  that  pass  by  clap  their  hands  at  thee ; 
they  hiss  and  wag  their  head  at  the  daughter  of 
Jerusalem,  saying,  Is  this  the  city  that  men  call 
the  perfection  of  beauty,  the  joy  of  the  whole 
earth?" 

The  completion  of  the  banks  occasioned  not  less 
uneasiness  to  the  Romans  than  to  the  Jews ;  for 
while  the  latter  saw  a  formidable  step  gained  to- 
wards the  reduction  of  their  city,  the  former  were  in 
perpetual  dread  of  some  new  exploit  by  which  their 
work  might  again  be  destroyed ;  and  such  destruc- 
tion would  now  be  an  irreparable  loss,  since  they  had 
exhausted  every  remaining  resource  in  the  erection 


THE   ENEMY   DISCOURAGED.  163 

of  these  last  banks.  Moreover,  "  they  found,"  says 
Josephus,  "  the  fighting  men  of  the  Jews  to  be  not 
at  all  mollified  among  such  their  sore  afflictions, 
while  they  had  themselves  perpetually  less  and  less 
hopes  of  success ;  and  their  banks  were  forced  to 
yield  to  the  stratagems  of  the  enemy ;  their  engines 
to  the  firmness  of  their  wall ;  and  their  closest  fights 
to  the  boldness  of  their  attacks.  And,  what  was  the 
greatest  discouragement  of  all,  they  found  the  Jews' 
courageous  souls  to  be  superior  to  the  multitude  of 
the  miseries  they  were  under  by  their  sedition,  their 
famine,  and  the  war  itself." 

But  the  decree  had  gone  forth,  and  Jerusalem 
must  fall.  The  first  indication  of  approaching  suc- 
cess to  the  enemy  seems  to  have  been  an  apparent 
falling  off  in  the  ardour  and  unanimity  of  the  sally ; 
for  when  John  led  his  forces  out  with  torches  to  as- 
sail these  banks,  they  advanced  in  detached  parties ; 
Josephus  says,  "  After  a  slow  manner,  timorously , 
and,  to  say  all  in  a  word,  without  a  Jewish  courage." 
The  probability  is,  that  they  were  so  exhausted  by 
famine,  by  incessant  fatigue,  interminable  watching, 
and  the  dreadful  forms  in  which  death  had  hourly 
cut  down  their  dearest  connections  around  them, 
that  the  physical  strength  was  wanting  to  manifest 
that  unsubdued  courage.  However,  their  compara- 
tive languor  infused  new  resolution  into  the  despond- 
ing Romans :  they  armed  themselves  in  their  most 
complete  mail,  and  by  forming  a  compact  body,  an 
unbroken  line,  before  the  banks,  they  covered  them 
effectually ;  at  the  same  time  bringing  their  gigantic 


164  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

slinging  machinery  to  bear  upon  the  Jews,  while  yet 
under  the  walls  of  the  city,  sweeping  them  down 
with  darts  and  stones,  and  great  fragments  of  rock, 
until,  disheartened  by  the  strength  of  the  living  pha- 
lanx before  them,  and  the  loss  of  so  many  comrades, 
the  Jews  retreated  without  accomplishing  anything. 

This  fired  the  Romans  to  new  efforts ;  they 
brought  up  their  engines,  and  assailed  the  tower  of 
Antoma,  not  only  by  their  means,  but  by  working 
away  to  undermine  its  foundations  with  their  iron 
implements ;  covering  themselves,  as  best  they  could} 
with  their  shields,  from  the  darts  and  other  missiles 
cast  down  upon  them  by  the  defenders.  Four  mas- 
sive stones  were  in  this  way  removed  from  the  base 
of  the  tower,  when  night  put  a  temporary  end  to  the 
conflict ;  but  before  dawn  both  parties  were  startled 
by  an  unexpected  event ;  for,  just  where  John  had 
before  carried  out  his  mine  to  destroy  the  first  banks, 
the  wall,  weakened  perhaps  by  that  proceeding,  and 
now  much  shaken  by  the  battering-rams,  fell  to  the 
ground.  A  joyful  surprise  to  the  enemy!  They 
hastened  to  make  good  an  entrance  at  the  breach, 
and  great  was  their  disappointment  on  finding  their 
way  barred  by  a  second  wall,  which  the  Jews  had 
secretly  built  in  case  of  such  an  event. 

To  scale  this  new  wall  was  pronounced  an  easy 
exploit,  yet  not  one  of  Rome's  warriors  durst  take 
the  lead  in  it.  Titus  therefore  considered  it  a  fitting 
juncture  for  one  of  his  orations,  and  assembling  the 
flower  of  his  army  he  addressed  them  at  great  length, 
urging  all  the  wonted  heathen  arguments,  and 


RETROSPECTIONS.  165 

making  many  admissions  of  the  courage,  constancy, 
and  perseverance  exhibited  by  the  Jews,  whom  he, 
of  course,  represented  as  being  infinitely  beneath 
them.  He  ended  his  speech  in  these  words : — "  As 
for  that  person  who  first  mounts  the  wall,  I  should 
blush  for  shame  if  I  did  not  make  him  to  be  envied 
of  others  by  those  rewards  I  would  bestow  upon 
him.  If  such  an  one  escape  with  his  life,  he  shall 
have  tne  command  of  others  that  are  now  but  his 
equals,  although  it  be  true  also  that  the  greatest  re- 
wards will  accrue  to  such  as  die  in  the  attempt." 

But  all  the  eloquence  of  their  popular  leader,  his 
promises  of  reward,  his  laboured  incitement  of  their 
every  ferocious  passion,  availed  not, — not  one  Ro- 
man hero  was  found  valiant  enough  to  lead  so  peril- 
ous an  enterprise.  A  Syrian,  contemptibly  mean  in 
aspect,  weak  in  body,  and  despised  as  one  deficient 
in  courage,  stepped  forth,  and  volunteered  to  head 
the  storming  party.  Often  in  the  old  time  had  the 
famous  generals  and  mighty  kings  of  Syria  advanced 
against  Israel,  and  fled  away  discomfited  by  the  far 
mightier  warriors  whom  the  LORD  girded  to  the  bat- 
tle. The  very  name  recalls  many  a  stirring  scene  in 
sacred  history,  and  among  them  that  magnificent 
though  momentary  vision  of  things  unseen  by  the 
veiled  eye  of  mortality,  when,  terrified  by  the  proud 
array  of  the  Syrian  army,  Elishajs  servant  almost 
forgot  the  impregnable  shield  spread  over  his  in- 
spired master,  and  was  permitted  to  look  upon  the 
heavenly  host  that  filled  the  surrounding  heights 
with  horses  and  chariots  of  fire.  Alas !  that  shield 


166  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

was  now  withdrawn  from  the  LORD'S  mountain,  and 
the  meanest  of  a  degenerate  Syrian  race  might  ven- 
ture to  attack  the  holy  place  of  the  Tabernacle  of 
the  Most  High !  The  incident,  merely  noticed  by 
Josephus  as  a  remarkable  instance  of  unexpected 
boldness  in  a  person  generally  despised,  is  one  of 
deep,  sad  interest,  when  viewed  as  tending  to  con- 
trast the  past  with  the  present,  the  days  of  Jerusa- 
lem's glorious  dominion  with  those  of  her  chastise- 
ment and  consuming  plagues. 

Strange  to  say,  only  eleven  men  of  all  the  Roman 
host  could  muster  sufficient  resolution  to  follow  this 
Sabinus,  who,  after  a  desperate  struggle,  succeeded 
in  mounting  the  wall  at  their  head.  The  Jews,  not 
supposing  but  that  the  Roman  army  were  all  pour- 
ing in  upon  them,  fled ;  but  returning  immediately, 
they  slew  the  daring  Syrian,  dashed  three  of  his 
companions  to  pieces  in  a  moment,  and  so  wounded 
the  remaining  eight  that  they  were  with  difficulty 
dragged  back  by  their  comrades  below,  and  carried 
to  the  camp. 

Two  days  afterwards,  twelve  foot-soldiers  of  the 
vanguard,  two  horsemen,  a  standard-bearer,  and  a 
trumpeter,  secretly  approached,  under  cover  of  night, 
or  in  the  morning  twilight,  and  clambering  over  the 
ruins  of  the  fallen  wall,  reached  the  tower  of  Antonia, 
surprised  the  first  guard,  whom  they  slew  in  their 
sleep,  and  having  gained  the  wall,  sounded  their 
trumpet.  Fatal  note ! 

The  Jews,  roused  from  their  short  repose,  started 
and  fled,  for  they  believed  that  the  whole  host  was 


FOR  THE  TEMPLE!        167 

upon  them.  These,  electrified  by  the  well-known 
signal,  sprang  to  their  arms,  and  ere  the  besieged  had 
time  to  rally  or  to  reflect,  the  host  was  indeed  upon 
them.  Titus  first,  and  after  him  his  selected  band, 
ascended  the  tower,  whence  they  beheld  the  sacred 
courts  of  God's  Temple  spread  beneath,  and  the  peo- 
ple of  Israel  fleeing  to  its  sanctuary.  They  pursued, 
and  once  more  the  lion  heart  of  Judah  was  roused. 
Should  the  blood-stained  enemy  pollute  the  hallowed 
spot  ?  No :  as  one  man  they  turned,  and  never  had 
the  battle  raged  between  them  as  that  day  it  raged,' — 
the  Romans  pressing  onward  over  the  holy  mount, 
the  Jews,  as  a  living  rock,  hurling  back  each  wave 
of  war  as  it  swelled  and  rolled  upon  them.  There 
was  no  dart  thrown,  no  stone  flung,  no  engine 
brought  to  bear  on  either  side  in  that  tremendous 
struggle ;  sword  in  hand  they  fought,  mixed  in  one 
mass  of  mutual  slaughter.  From  the  camp  rein- 
forcements  perpetually  came  up  through  the  now  un- 
guarded tower ;  from  the  city  of  David  new  cham- 
pions, roused  even  from  the  bed  of  death,  and  stagger- 
ing under  the  weight  of  their  own  weapons,  rushed 
on  and  on,  and  flung  themselves  into  the  fight,  for  the 
prize  of  that  terrible  contest  was  THE  TEMPLE. 

Judah  prevailed  ;  Rome  could  not  sustain  the  bat- 
tle, unaided  by  her  own  infernal  machinery  of  cata- 
pult, and  ram,  and  crossbow.  The  enemy  retreated, 
driven  step  by  step  from  the  sacred  ground,  and  Titus 
was  glad  to  fortify  himself  where,  on  yester-eve,  he 
little  expected  so  soon  to  gain  a  footing,  in  the  tower 
ofAntonia.  The  battle  had  lasted  from  the  ninth 
15 


168  JUD^A   CAPTA. 

hour  of  the  night  to  the  seventh  hour  of  the  day,  and 
both  parties  had  put  forth  the  utmost  of  their  strength, 
their  energy,  and  courage.  The  reverse  sustained 
by  the  Jews  was  indeed  terrible,  and  an  omen  of 
speedy  defeat,  for  Antonia  was  the  very  key-stone 
of  their  arch;  but  the  Temple  had  been  assailed — 
the  Temple  was  saved ;  and  in  the  gladness  of  their 
hearts  for  that  rescue  they  almost  overlooked  the 
greatness  of  their  losses. 

While  thus  they  exulted,  a  new  assailant  appeared 
in  the  person  of  a  centurion,  a  man  of  great  bodily 
prowess  and  extraordinary  daring,  who  seems  to 
have  been  desirous  of  wiping  off  from  his  own  name 
the  blot  of  that  pusilanimity  which  could  not  but 
attach  to  those  who  had  shrank  from  assailing  the 
slender  wall  recently  erected  by  John.  This  Julian, 
seeing  the  Romans  flying  in  disorder  from  their  pur- 
suers, leaped  out  from  the  tower,  into  which  they 
were  pressing  for  shelter,  and  by  the  vigour  of  his 
unexpected  onset  turned  the  Jews  back.  Clad  in 
full  panoply,  and  possessed,  as  it  would  appear,  with 
the  fury  of  a  maniac,  he  rushed  into  the  crowd  of 
mingled  soldiers  and  citizens,  and  committed  much 
slaughter,  until,  having  reached  the  corner  of  the 
inner  court  of  the  Temple,  his  career  was  abruptly 
stopped. 

We  have  here  a  specimen  of  the  theology  of  Jo- 
sephus  which  must  not  be  passed  over.  As  a  Jew, 
he  might  well  have  thought  that  the  God  whom  his 
fathers  worshipped  had  once  more  interposed  on  be- 
half of  that  hallowed  spot ;  but  in  true  pagan  style, 


JULIAN   THE    CENTURION.  169 

he  says  of  the  Roman  pursuer,  "  However,  he  was 
himself  pursued  by  Fate,  which  it  was  not  possible 
that  he,  who  was  but  a  mortal  man,  should  escape." 
The  inner  court  of  the  Temple,  which  he  had  now 
gained,  was  curiously  paved  with  polished  marble,  and 
on  this  his  feet,  cased  as  they  were  in  shoes  studded 
thickly  with  iron  nails,  soon  slipped.  He  fell  on  his 
back;  and  was  immediately  surrounded  by  the  Jews, 
who,  after  a  long  and  terrible  struggle,  succeeded  in 
despatching  him.  From  the  tower  the  Romans  be- 
held this  unequal  contest,  but  none  among  them  ven- 
tured to  their  champion's  aid.  The  few  stragglers 
lingering  outside  were  presently  attacked  and  driven 
in  by  the  Jews,  who  thus  remained  masters  of  the 
sacred  precincts  to  their  utmost  boundary. 


170  JUD^A   CAPTA. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ON  the  seventeenth  day  of  Tamuz  the  daily  sacri- 
fice ceased.  Men  were  wanting  to  offer  it ;  so  fear- 
fully had  the  sacred  order  been  thinned  by  the  rav- 
ages of  famine,  pestilence,  and  the  sword.  It  was  a 
day  of  mourning  and  bitter  lamentation  in  Jerusa- 
lem, a  day  of  gloominess  and  thick  darkness  to  those 
who  had  until  then  refused  to  believe  that  the  God 
of  Israel  would  indeed  give  over  hig  heritage  to  the 
spoiler.  In  the  midst  of  the  wreck,  or  just  three 
years  and  a  half  from  the  commencement  of  the 
war  by  Vespasian,  did  the  prince  that  came  to  de- 
stroy the  city  and  the  sanctuary  "  cause  the  sacrifice 
and  the  oblation  to  cease,"  exactly  as  the  angel  who 
spake  to  Daniel  had  predicted  ;*  and  yet,  alas ! 
Israel  did  not  perceive,  would  not  consider,  that  in 
this  there  was  a  testimony  given  to  the  fact  that 
Messiah  had  already  been  cut  off.  Who  shall  tell 
the  anguish  of  mind  with  which  the  Jews  beheld 
their  altar  destitute,  its  divinely-appointed  ordinance 
rendered  impracticable,  its  multitudes  of  ministering 
priests  diminished  to  a  feeble  few,  who,  with  gar- 
ments rent,  and  dust  upon  their  heads,  bewailed  a 

*  Dan.  ix.  25,  27. 


A  PARLEY.  171 

calamity  the  possible  occurrence  of  which  had 
seemed  to  them  an  idle  dream.  We  do  not  drink 
sufficiently  deep  of  the  spirit  of  Judaism,  such  as  it 
appears  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  to  realize,  even  as 
we  ought  to  do,  the  bitterness  of  this  cup  of  wrath 
and  woe.  Edom-like,  we  have  accustomed  ourselves 
to  stand  on  the  other  side,  "  in  the  day  that  the 
strangers  carried  away  his  forces,  and  foreigners  en- 
tered into  his  gates,  and  cast  lots  upon  Jerusalem." 
Yes,  we  take  up  the  history,  and  look  upon  our 
brother's  affliction  in  the  day  of  his  calamity  with 
the  cold  observance  of  those  who  have  no  concern 
in  his  sorrows,  instead  of  so  making  his  cause  our 
own  that  we  should  be  constrained  to  cry  mightily 
unto  the  Lord,  yea,  to  give  him  no  rest  until  He  turn 
away  his  fierce  anger,  and  pardon  his  heritage,  and 
gather  his  people,  and  once  more  establish  and 
make  Jerusalem  a  praise  in  the  whole  earth. 

The  daily  sacrifice  ceased,  and  Titus,  prompted 
no  doubt  by  his  crafty  ally,  who  knew  full  well  into 
what  consternation  the  fearful  event  would  throw 
the  Jews,  deputed  him,  Josephus,  to  demand  a  par- 
ley, and  to  make  the  most  of  the  crisis  for  subduing 
the  stubborn  spirits  who  extorted  so  heavy  a  price 
of  time,  and  labour,  and  blood,  from  their  cruel  in- 
vaders for  every  advantage  gained.  The  orator  be- 
gan with  a  mock ;  he  implored  the  people,  using  at 
the  same  time  the  sacred  language,  "  to  spare  their 
city,  to  prevent  the  fire  that  was  about  to  seize  upon 
the  Temple,  and  to  offer  the  usual  sacrifices  to  God 
therein."  Deep  sadness  of  heart  kept  the  afflicted 
15* 


172  JUD/EA   CAPTA. 

Jews  silent  for  awhile;  but  they  presently  broke 
into  keen  reproaches  against  him  for  his  base  deser- 
tion of  his  country,  and  the  daring  impiety  of  his 
present  course  in  coming  up  against  the  Temple  of 
the  LORD  as  an  enemy.  To  this  Josephus  replied  in 
a  strain  of  railing  accusation  and  bitter  taunts  that 
it  is  almost  marvellous  that  he  should  have  left  on 
record.  He  also  adduced,  as  a  scriptural  example, 
something  which  is  nowhere  to  be  found  in  the 
Scriptures ;  and  after  protesting  his  truth  as  a  Jew, 
acknowledges  himself  deserving  of  all  the  reproaches 
that  had  been  cast  upon  him,  because  he  was  then 
acting  in  opposition  to  Fate  by  striving  to  save 
those  whom  God  had  condemned.  He  proceeded  to 
show  that  prophecy  was  about  to  be  fulfilled  in  their 
utter  destruction;  and  certainly,  however  hard  he 
might  have  studied  for  language  the  best  suited  at 
once  to  exasperate  and  to  harden  them,  he  could 
not  have  succeeded  better  in  producing  an  ha- 
rangue to  that  effect.  He  wept  and  groaned,  and 
sobbed,  so  that,  as  he  tells  us,  the  Romans  could  not 
but  wonder  at  and  pity  him,  while  the  Jewish  garri- 
son were  stirred  up  to  greater  indignation,  and 
strove  to  lay  hold  on  him.  Some  few,  however,  de- 
serted on  the  strength  of  his  persuasions,  and  these, 
he  says,  were  kindly  received  by  Titus,  and  sent 
away  to  a  small  city  called  Gophna,,with  many  prom- 
ises of  future  favour.  Their  entire  disappearance, 
meanwhile,  naturally  gave  rise  to  a  belief  within 
the  city  that  they  had  been  murdered  like  their  pred- 
ecessors ;  and  this  conviction  deterred  others  from 


PREPARATIONS   FOR    STORMING.  173 

following  their  example,  until  they  were  recalled 
and  paraded  round  the  walls  under  the  escort  of  Jo- 
sephus,  to  add  their  persuasions  to  his  that  the  city 
might  be  quietly  surrendered  to  the  enemy.  The 
consequence  of  this  address  from  several  of  their 
own  high  priests  and  nobles  was  strange,  if  Jose- 
phus  reports  it  truly  ;  for,  according  to  him,  the  peo- 
ple who  were  just  before  mourning  bitterly  the  ces- 
sation of  their  daily  sacrifice,  suddenly  attacked  the 
Temple  itself  with  darts,  stones,  javelins,  and  what- 
ever their  engines  could  hurl  against  it.  A  great 
slaughter  is  described  as  taking  place  at  the  same 
time  within  the  holy  courts,  and  that  of  Jews,  by 
Jewish  hands.  The  story  is  inexplicable,  unless 
some  plot  was  even  then  ripening  among  one  party 
to  deliver  up  the  Temple  to  the  Romans.  Titus  was 
exceedingly  enraged  at  the  proceeding,  which  ren- 
ders this  conjecture  more  probable  ;  and  he  addressed 
a  vehement  remonstrance  to  the  assailing  party, 
headed  by  John ;  but  this  producing  no  effect,  he  re- 
solved on  storming,  that  very  night,  the  holy  place 
which  he  professed  himself  so  anxious  to  save.  The 
near  view  that  his  present  position  commanded  of 
its  costly  magnificence  no  doubt  rendered  him  dou- 
bly solicitous  to  secure  so  precious  a  spoil  before  its 
beauty  could  be  marred,  or  its  value  lessened,  by  the 
hands  of  those  whose  stern  resolve  it  was  that  he 
should  never  grasp  it. 

Seated  on  the  highest  turret  of  the  tower  of  An- 
tonia,  the  Roman  prince  looked  on  while  the  very 
flower  of  his  host,  chosen  men  arrayed  under  chosen 


174  JUD^A   CAPTA. 

leaders,  to  the  number  of  several  thousands,  as 
many  as  the  narrow  space  would  permit  to  act  with 
freedom,  stole,  under  cover  of  the  night,  to  surprise 
in  their  sleep  the  guards  of  the  Temple.  They 
found  them  wakeful,  watchful,  and  prepared  to 
spring  upon  them  sword  in  hand.  A  most  desperate 
battle  ensued,  which  lasted  from  the  ninth  hour  of 
the  night  to  the  fifth  hour  of  the  day ;  the  Romans 
being  loudly  cheered  on  by  their  comrades  and  their 
general,  on  the  summit  of  the  tower,  while  the  Jews 
fought  with  undiminished  courage  and  determina- 
tion. No  advantage  was  gained;  blood  was  shed 
like  water,  and  the  courts  of  the  Temple  again  wore 
the  appearance  of  a  slaughter-house  ;  but  not  a  foot 
of  its  precincts  was  ceded  to  the  foe.  They  retired 
to  the  tower :  and  the  Jews  set  their  guard  as  be- 
fore, in  grim,  and  ghastly,  and  resolute  array.  Fam- 
ine had  wasted  their  flesh,  and  wrinkled  their  skins, 
and  blackened  their  countenances :  sorrow  had  deep- 
ened every  furrow,  and  despair  was  striving  to  un- 
man the  heart  that  never  shrunk  from  peril ;  but  the 
tread  that  involuntarily  pressed  the  mangled  corpse 
of  a  parent,  a  son,  or  a  bosom  friend,  was  firm  and 
unfaltering  still.  The  city  of  David  and  the  mount- 
ain of  the  LORD'S  house,  were  yet  under  their  keep- 
ing ;  and  what  Hebrew  heart  could  flinch  from 
guarding  such  a  trust '? 

Titus,  meanwhile,  had  kept  his  army  employed  in 
demolishing  the  foundations  of  fort  Antonia,  so  as  to 
form  a  broad  and  easy  passage  from  the  camp  with- 
out to  the  court  of  the  Gentiles3  the  outermost  en- 


NEW    EMBANKMENTS.  175 

closure  of  the  Temple.  Here,  opposite  the  northern 
and  western  fronts,  and  at  the  angle,  and  over 
against  the  cloisters,  they  raised  embankments,  with 
great  toil  and  difficulty ;  for  the  distance  from  which 
they  had  to  fetch  wood  was  fatiguing,  and  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  Jews  incessant.  No  stratagem,  no  feat 
of  daring,  was  left  untried  to  obstruct  these  works, 
and  to  harass  where  they  could  not  slay  the  arti- 
ficers. Sallies,  bolder  than  before,  were  constantly 
planned  ;  and  the  horses  of  the  Romans  seized  while 
their  masters  were  fetching  wood,  or  foraging  for 
provender.  They  also,  to  interrupt  the  communica- 
tion, set  fire  to  the  north-west  cloister,  where  it  ex- 
tended to  the  tower,  and  gradually  destroyed  much 
of  this  portion  of  the  sacred  edifices,  as  a  means  of 
better  protecting,  by  such  isolation,  the  Temple  it- 
self. No  day  passed  without  skirmishing,  few  with- 
out hard  fighting ;  and  this  at  least  may  be  said, 
that  Jerusalem,  forsaken  of  her  God,  and  garrisoned 
by  a  band  of  dying  men,  proved  a  harder  conquest 
to  the  Roman  than  ever  he  had  essayed  to  grasp. 
So  wonderful  are  the  natural  defences  of  that  glo- 
rious city — such  as  she  was  while  her  own  tribes 
possessed  her  as  their  inheritance ;  so  great  was  the 
strength  of  her  ancient  ramparts,  the  wall  that 
Israel's  monarchs  first  raised,  and  the  pious  Nehe- 
miah  repaired,  and  round  which  the  LORD  had 
spread  the  shield  of  his  omnipotence,  until  now  that 
the  time  was  come  to  lay  her  in  the  dust,  that  the 
baffled  enemy  had  long  ere  then  yielded  to  despair, 
and  withdrawn  from  the  hopeless  enterprise,  if  the 


176  JUD.EA    CAPTA. 

mysterious  influence  had  not  prevailed,  which  told 
him  that  he  must  yet  succeed. 

Among  the  stratagems  practised  by  the  Jews  to 
drive  the  soldiers  from  their  work  upon  the  banks, 
was  the  following.  The  western  cloister  of  the 
court  of  the  Gentiles  was  over-against  one  of  these 
new  embankments,  and  here  the  Jews  brought  bitu- 
men and  pitch,  and  various  dry  combustible  mate- 
rials, with  which  they  filled  the  space  between  the 
beams  and  roof.  Having  done  this,  they  feigned  a 
eudden  retreat,  as  though  suffering  under  great 
fatigue,  and  thus  induced  the  Romans  to  mount  the 
cloisters  and  pursue  them.  When  a  large  number 
had  ascended  by  ladders,  so  that  the  buildings  were 
nearly  filled  and  covered  with  them,  the  Jews  set  fire 
to  the  train :  and  by  this  manoeuvre  they  slew  the 
greater  part  of  them ;  for  such  as  escaped  the  flames, 
by  leaping  down  within,  fell  into  their  hands,  while 
those  who  cast  themselves  in  the  other  direction, 
were  killed  by  the  depth  of  the  fall.  Many  perished 
by  fire,  and  some  by  their  own  swords.  Josephus, 
in  true  Roman  style,  especially  commends  the  sui- 
cides ;  and  laments,  with  his  wonted  adherence  to 
the  alien  cause,  over  all  who  fell  in  fighting  against 
Jerusalem. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  the  event  took  place 
which  marks  the  calamities  as  of  the  LORD'S  es- 
pecial inflicting,  since  the  prediction  was  thereby 
fulfilled  that  Moses  had  recorded.  Josephus  takes 
no  notice  of  this  prophecy,  while  relating  its  awful 
accomplishment,  but  he  names  the  woman,  Mary, 


PROPHECY   FULFILLED.  177 

the  daughter  of  Eleazar,  as  being  "  eminent  for  her 
family  and  her  wealth  ;"  thus  identifying  "  the  ten- 
der and  delicate  woman  among  you,  which  would 
not  adventure  to  set  the  sole  of  her  foot  upon  the 
ground  for  delicateness  and  tenderness."  The  sad 
tale  is  well  known :  she  killed  and  roasted  her  babe, 
ate  a  portion,  and  concealed  the  remainder.  Not 
one  jot  or  one  tittle  failed  of  all  the  LORD  had  fore- 
shown. Josephus  puts  a  speech  into  her  mouth, 
evidently  his  own  invention,  in  which  she  throws  the 
guilt  of  her  deed  more  upon  her  own  suffering 
nation  than  upon  the  Romans,  and  garnishes  the 
fearful  tale  with  his  accustomed  licence ;  but  the  sim- 
ple fact  is  enough. 

The  month  of  Ab  was  now  come :  on  the  tenth 
day  of  that  month  had  Jerusalem  formerly  fallen  be- 
fore the  arms  of  the  Babylonian  king ;  and  this  day 
was  always  observed  as  one  of  fasting,  of  humilia- 
tion, and  bitter  mourning  among  the  Jews.  From 
the  second  to  the  eighth  day,  a  continued  but  inef- 
fectual assault  had  been  made  upon  the  walls  of  the 
inner  court,  by  means  of  the  usual  engines :  on  the 
eighth,  a  new  bank  was  completed,  and  Titus  order- 
ed up  the  battering-ram,  but  even  this  proved  too 
weak  for  the  purpose.  The  stones  that  composed 
the  wall  were  of  such  an  enormous  size,  and  the 
strength  of  those  gigantic  bulwarks  so  prodigious, 
that  the  only  process  to  which  they  yielded  was  the 
tedious,  and  almost  impracticable  one,  of  removing 
them  piecemeal  by  manual  labour.  In  this  way  the 
soldiers  succeeded  in  taking  down  the  external  foun- 


178  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

dations  of  the  northern  gate ;  but  they  found  them- 
selves foiled  by  the  solidity  of  the  inner  portion, 
which  upheld  it  as  firmly  as  before.  Thus  baffled, 
and  despairing  of  success  by  any  other  means  than 
storming  the  place  sword  in  hand,  the  Romans 
brought  ladders,  and  fixed  them  against  the  clois- 
ters, to  which  they  began  to  mount  Thus  far  they 
had  proceeded  without  molestation  from  the  Jews ; 
but  no  sooner  did  the  Roman  helms  appear  above 
the  level  of  that  sacred  enclosure  than  an  onset  was 
made  from  within,  which  hurled  them  back,  and  slew 
or  cast  them  headlong,  encumbered  as  they  were 
with  their  heavy  mail,  and  before  they  had  time  to 
advance  their  shields.  A  long  ladder,  on  which 
these  assailants  clustered  like  bees,  was  often  seized 
by  the  Jews  at  its  summit,  and  flung  violently  down, 
crushing  the  soldiers  in  its  fall.  The  very  ensigns, 
the  proud  eagle  standards  of  Rome,  were  so  endan- 
gered, that  those  who  bare  could  scarcely  preserve 
them  from  being  captured ;  and  the  engines,  which 
with  so  much  labour  they  had  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  walls,  were  actually  taken  by  the  people  of  Is- 
rael. It  was  a  signal  defeat,  and  a  marvellous  one. 
The  Romans  now  brought  fire,  and  applied  it  to 
the  gates  that  were  within  their  reach.  The  silver 
that  covered  them  was  heated  until  it  ignited  the 
wood ;  and  by  this  means  a  body  of  flame  suddenly 
burst  forth,  catching  on  either  side  the  cloisters,  from 
which  the  enemy  had  been  repulsed.  There  was  a 
natural  reluctance  to  destroy  what  would,  in  its  un- 
injured state,  be  a  most  costly  prize  ;  and  this  led 


THE  OUTER  COURT  TAKEN.         179 

the  Romans  to  reserve,  as  a  last  resource,  the  appli- 
cation of  the  destructive  element.  Dismay  seized 
on  the  unhappy  Jews,  when  they  beheld  their  holy 
edifices  blazing  around  them,  and  no  effectual  effort 
was  made  to  stay  the  progress  of  the  conflagration, 
which  prevailed  during  that  and  the  following  day : 
the  strength  of  the  building  being  such,  that  they 
could  only  be  destroyed  by  the  very  tardy  progress 
of  fire  continually  renewed  and  rekindled. 

The  court  of  the  Gentiles  was  to  be  finally  con- 
tested, in  the  midst  of  these  smoking  ruins.  On  the 
northern  and  the  western  sides  it  was  defenceless, 
the  Romans  being  now  able  to  pour  in  upon  it,  over 
the  broken  charred  fragments  of  its  lofty  and  beaute- 
ous fabrics.  Titus  issued  orders  to  quench  the  re- 
maining fire,  while  he  summoned  his  six  principal 
commanders  to  a  consultation,  touching  the  destruc- 
tion or  preservation  of  the  Temple.  Their  voices 
were  for  the  former,  but  his  wish  of  course  prevailed 
over  their  opinions :  and  he  resolved  to  spare  the 
magnificent  trophy,  as  a  proud  monument  of  pagan 
triumph,  and  to  be  the  desecrated  fane  of  some  de- 
mon-god. Strict  orders  were,  therefore,  given  to 
save  the  Temple  unhurt;  and  for  the  work  before 
them  a  careful  selection  was  made  of  the  bravest 
and  the  best  warriors  from  the  whole  host ;  and  to 
these  was  committed  the  task  of  making  their  way 
over  the  still  smouldering  ruins,  to  quench  them 
wholly,  and  to  take  possession  of  the  court  of  the 
Gentiles.  This  was  done  :  so  weary  and  dispirited 
were  the  Jews,  that  they  offered  no  resistance  while 
16 


180  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

the  Romans  set  their  guard,  in  formidable  force, 
within  the  long-contested  wall ;  but  on  the  follow- 
ing morning  they  rallied  again,  and  in  a  desperate 
onset  slew  many  of  the  foe ;  they  would  have  driven 
them  from  that  hard-won  ground,  had  not  Titus,  who 
overlooked  every  thing  from  his  lofty  post,  sent  rein- 
forcements sufficient  to  repulse  the  Jews,  who  were 
compelled  to  retreat;  and,  finally,  to  fortify  them- 
selves in  the  second  court — the  court  of  Israel.  So 
closed  the  day. 

"I  saw  the  LORD  standing  upon  the  altar:  and 
He  said,  Smite  the  lintel  of  the  door  that  the  posts 
may  shake  :  and  cut  them  in  the  head,  all  of  them  : 
and  I  will  slay  the  last  of  them  with  the  sword :  he 
that  fleeth  of  them  shall  not  flee  away,  and  he  that 
escapeth  of  them  shall  not  be  delivered."* 

Terrible  is  the  LORD  in  his  judgments,  righteous  ia 
his  dealings  towards  the  children  of  men.  Our  heaKs 
will  bleed,  and  our  eyes  will  overflow,  when  contem- 
plating the  dire  visitation  of  wrath  on  his  people,  his 
own  peculiar  treasure,  Judah  his  inheritance,  ar^d 
the  Mount  Zion  which  he  loved ;  but  we  must  nut 
forget  that  He  who  doth  not  afflict  willingly,  nor 
grieve  the  children  of  men,  who  calls  judgment  h!s 
strange  work,  and  delights  in  mercy — that  HE  it  wi& 
who  compassed  Jerusalem  with  armies,  and  pourc  d 
out  upon  her  the  fierceness  of  that  indignation  whit  h 
never  burns  without  a  cause.  Turning  to  the  touching 
services  appointed  for  that  day,  and  observed  by  aJi 
Israel  in  every  part  of  the  world,  in  weeping,  at  1 

*  Amos  ix.  1. 


SAD    COMMEMORATION.  181 

mourning,  and  lamentation  ;  in  fasting,  and  in  dust 
and  ashes,  in  darkness  arid  in  prostration,  no  less  of 
body  than  of  soul,  we  find  a  memorial  that  speaks 
volumes,  as  to  the  spirit  in  which  the  children  of  Is- 
rael in  our  day  review  those  scenes.  Too  little  do 
Gentiles  know,  too  little  do  they  care,  about  these 
things  :  but  the  time  is  come  when  they  who  desire 
to  rejoice  and  joy  with  Jerusalem,  must  learn  to 
mourn  for  her  more  feelingly  than  now  they  do. 

At  nightfall,  on  the  eve  of  this  sad  day,  the  con- 
gregations of  Israel  throughout  the  world  assemble 
in  their  synagogues  :  every  light  is  extinguished, 
save  the  faint  glimmer  that  is  needful  to  enable  the 
officiating  minister  to  read  the  appointed  scripture — 
while,  seated  on  the  ground,  in  the  deep  gloom  of 
such  visible  darkness,  the  assembly  listen — with  what 
emotions  it  is  not  for  us  to  say — to  the  opening  por- 
tion, the  137th  Psalm.  "  By  the  rivers  of  Babylon 
there  we  sat,  yea,  we  wept  when  we  remembered 
Zion."  After  some  ascriptions  of  praise,  and  dwell- 
ing on  the  promises  of  future  mercy,  they  proceed  in 
the  following  strain : 

"  This  night  have  I  for  generations  appointed  for 
mourning  and  lamentation:  I  therefore  will  weep 
and  sit  down  dejected,  and  will  not  smell  the  fra- 
grant spices.  I  am  grieved  bitterly,  because  mine 
iniquities  have  caused  mine  afflictions  to  prevail 
over  me,  when  the  holy  city  was  burnt,  by  the  Crea- 
tor of  the  light  of  the  fire Behold,  there 

is  none  to  comfort  us,  for  the  fierce  enemy  is  inex- 
orable :  and  from  the  time  of  the  ninth  of  Ab  we 


182  JUD^A   CAPTA. 

have  been  as  orphans  who  are  fatherless.  From 
the  day  that  they  lifted  up  their  voice,  our  ancestors 
on  this  night  committed  trespass :  I  have  therefore 
appointed  it  for  to  weep,  mourn,  and  lament.  Our 
fathers  have  sinned,  and  are  not,  and  how  shall  we 
bear  their  iniquity  ?  O  thou,  who  dwellest  in  heaven, 
are  the  children  to  be  put  to  death  for  the  fathers  ? 
Rise  up  with  thy  mercy,  O  our  God,  and  compas- 
sionate us ;  O  turn  our  mourning  into  joy,  for  with 
our  whole  heart  do  we  hope  in  thy  salvation,  O 
Lord !  O  comfort  the  mourners  of  Jerusalem,  who 
wait  for  thy  redemption  and  salvation :  turn  the 
captivity  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  let  the  Re- 
deemer come  to  Zion !" 

The  whole  congregation  repeat,  "  Turn  the  cap- 
tivity of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  let  the  Redeemer 
come  to  Zion !" 

After  this,  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah  are  read 
throughout;  some  more  affecting  prayers  put  up, 
and  the  closing  strain  runs  thus,  the  response  of  the 
people  at  every  sentence  being,  "  For  the  glory  of  the 
renowned  city  of  Zion  I  will  weep  day  and  night." 

"  For  the  sake  of  my  Temple,  and  the  glory  of 
the  renowned  city  of  Zion,  will  I  weep  day  and 
night.  The  enemy  hath  made  my  glorious  house 
desolate ;  he  hath  driven  me  into  the  hands  of  Na- 
bioth  and  Shamah ;  for  which  I  will  continually 
weep  with  a  doleful  voice.  I  will  continually  weep 
for  the  repeated  destruction  of  the  delectable  land, 
and  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  and  for  her  people  which 
are  gone  into  captivity.  O  mourn  thou  Law,  for  thy 


LAMENTATIONS.  1 83 

glory  is  profaned  :  tny  crown  is  fallen  since  the  day 
that  thy  house  was  made  desolate ;  take  up  a  lamen- 
tation for  Aholibah  and  Aholah." 

This  is  but  a  prose  translation  of  the  most  lofty 
Hebrew  poetry.  It  is  not  possible  to  select  from  the 
exquisitely  pathetic  service  of  the  day  itself  any- 
thing like  an  adequate  specimen  of  the  whole :  but 
a  few  short  passages  may  be  given  illustrative  at 
once  of  the  depth  of  their  sorrow,  and  their  readi- 
ness to  justify  the  severe  dealings  of  -he  LORD. 

"  The  beautiful  climate,  the  joy  of  the  whole 
earth,  the  city  wherein  the  chosen  people  dwelt,  is 
become  w^aste  and  desolate,  a  proverb,  and  a  bye- 
word  :  all  her  people  sigh,  for  they  find  no  mercy. 
Her  mighty  men  are  confounded,  because  of  the 
destructive  sword  ;  Jachin  and  Boaz  are  plucked  up 
from  the  threshing-floor  of  Arauna :  strangers  have 
trodden  and  roared  in  the  place  where  the  Divine 
Shechinah  rested. 

"  The  Divine  Shechinah  crieth  aloud,  because  of 
their  wickedness,  saying,  Children,  turn  ;  cease  to  do 
evil ;  for  the  bed  is  too  short  for  one  to  stretch  him- 
self out  at  length.  When  the  proud  ones  placed  an 
idol  in  my  habitation,  the  Divine  glory  departed  from 
the  inner  Temple,  and  said,  I  will  go,  and  return  to 
my  own  dwelling,  until  they  acknowledge  their  tres- 
pass and  seek  my  presence." 

All  is  in  the  same  style  :  the  portions  of  prophetic 

scripture  are  read  which  most  clearly  set  forth  what 

should  come,  and  what  then  did  come,  upon  Judah 

and  Jerusalem,  so  giving  glory  to  God  for  the  fulfil- 

16* 


184  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

ment  of  his  own  word.  How  many  among  our  read- 
ers, who  owe  their  spiritual  all  to  Israel,  have  turned 
aside  from  the  paths  of  pleasure  or  of  business,  to 
keep  this  sorrowful  anniversary  with  their  brethren  ? 
and  to  respond  with  a  fervent  amen  to  their  prayer, 
"  Turn  the  captivity  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
let  the  Redeemer  come  to  Zion !" 

Titus  retired  for  the  night  into  the  tower  of  An- 
tonia,  purposing  at  early  dawn  to  lead  his  whole 
army  to  the  storming  of  the  Temple,  and  to  surround 
the  holy  house  with  his  camp.  Surely  it  was  a 
sleepless  vigil  that  the  royal  vulture  kept,  glaring 
down,  through  the  dim  light  afforded  by  casual  fires, 
•upon  his  splendid  prey.  We  have  already  described 
the  tower  of  Antonia  as  guarding  the  north-west  an- 
gle of  the  Temple's  enclosure,  and  here  he  might 
command  a  prospect,  wonderful  in  all  its  details ; 
unequalled,  not  even  resembled,  by  any  place  upon 
earth.  Towards  the  north  and  the  west  of  his  watch- 
tower,  all  was  in  the  spoiler's  hand :  his  camp  occu- 
pied the  ruins  of  Bezetha  and  Acra,  while  its  outer- 
most borders  stretched  far  into  the  regions  beyond 
On  the  eastern  side  rose  the  Mount  of  Olives  abruptly 
from  the  deep  valley  of  the  Kedron,  studded  with  his 
tents,  which  gave  a  hostile  aspect  to  what  had  ever 
smiled  in  verdant  beauty,  and  waved  its  dark  bright 
olive  boughs  in  peaceful  homage  towards  the  holy 
city.  Due  south,  at  his  very  feet,  lay  the  courts  of 
the  Lord's  house,  the  outermost  of  which,  a  defiled 
heap  of  ruins,  was  occupied  by  his  guards.  Beyond 
it,  and  concealed  by  the  majestic  fabric,  the  hill 


BRUTALITY   OF    TITUS.  185 

Ophel  descended  to  the  valley  of  Hinnom ;  and 
broadly  swelling  to  the  south-west,  crowned  with 
palaces,  and  towers,  and  stately  dwellings,  now  the 
abode  of  misery  and  privation  unspeakable,  rose 
Zion,  the  proud  site  of  the  city  of  David,  as  yet  un- 
trod  by  hostile  step ;  and  confident  of  ultimate  de- 
liverance, while  the  Temple  of  the  LORD  remained 
untouched. 

What  were  the  thoughts  of  Titus,  as  he  looked 
around?  Did  no  compunction  touch  him  for  the 
cruelties  that  he  had  already  perpetrated,  nor  one 
merciful  impulse  plead  within  his  bosom  for  pity  on 
the  famishing  thousands,  the  extremity  of  whose 
wretchedness  was  well  known  to  him  ?  Was  he,  the 
proud  and  daring  warrior,  insensible  to  the  claim  on  his 
martial  sympathies  established  by  the  heroic  defend- 
ers, for  such,  however  great  their  transgressions,  they 
unquestionably  were,  who  had  set,  even  to  Romans, 
an  example  of  courage,  fortitude,  and  patriotism,  that 
might  shame  their  own  most  vaunted  records  ?  Of 
all  this  we  know  nothing :  but  this  we  do  know,  that 
a  more  remorseless  slaughterer  than  Titus  proved 
himself  to  be  towards  the  Jewish  nation  never  dis- 
graced the  human  form.  His  desire  to  spare  the 
goodly  house  of  the  LORD  arose  avowedly  from  ava- 
ricious motives :  coveting,  as  he  did,  so  gorgeous  a 
trophy,  and  so  inexhaustible  a  spoil.  The  wealth  of 
that  house  was  prodigious.  Gold,  silver,  and  fine 
brass ;  the  costliest  of  wood,  and  the  rarest  of  pre- 
cious stones ;  all  were  there  in  profusion  as  un- 
bounded, as  was  the  exquisite  workmanship  that 


186  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

shaped  them  into  lovely  forms  unrivalled  throughout 
the  world. 

In  other  matters  Josephus  may  and  does  exagger- 
ate ;  but  here  he  scarcely  can  do  so  :  for  the  Temple 
of  the  LORD  at  Jerusalem  was  enriched,  not  only 
with  all  that  its  own  worshippers  could,  in  the  pride 
alike  of  their  hearts  and  of  their  wealth,  lavish  upon 
it,  but  kings  of  every  nation  had  thither  sent  their 
costly  gifts ;  and  inasmuch  as  it  fell  short  of  the 
glory  of  Solomon's,  by  so  much  it  surpassed  every 
other  edifice,  in  the  grandeur  of  its  architecture,  and 
the  magnitude  of  its  treasures.  To-morrow,  and  the 
Roman  would  march  over  the  slain  bodies  of  its 
children,  to  seize  and  to  appropriate  the  prize,  that 
glowed  and  glistened  even  through  the  darkness  of 
that  hour  whensoever  but  the  glance  of  a  torch  fell 
on  its  surface  of  snow-white  marble  interspersed 
with  burnished  gold.  The  very  spikes,  that  warned 
the  passing  bird  from  resting  where  no  pollution 
might  come,  were  of  that  precious  metal.  Oh !  how 
unlike  was  the  imperial  spoiler,  the  dark  destroyer  of 
God's  forsaken  heritage,  watching  to  seize  his  prey, 
to  the  angel,  the  bright  though  terrible  angel,  who 
once,  on  that  very  spot,  stretched  a  drawn  sword 
over  the  threshing-floor  of  Araunah,  towards  the 
menaced  city  of  Jerusalem  !  There  was  a  time 
when  God  himself  vouchsafed  to  chastise  his  rebei~ 
lious  Israel :  but  now,  direst  of  all  calamities !  He 
had  delivered  them  into  the  hands  of  men. 

There  is  an  appearance  of  confusion  in  the  narra- 
tive of  Josephus,  just  at  this  point :  it  would  seem  as 


THE   TEMPLE    FIRED.  187 

though  some  Jewish  feeling,  not  utterly  annihilated, 
had  overpowered  him  at  the  moment,  when  he  re- 
called the  scene  where  he  had  been,  if  not  an  actor, 
an  acquiescent  spectator ;  when  the  Temple  of  the 
LORD,  whither  the  tribes  of  Israel  had  been  wont,  for 
so  many  ages,  to  go  up  with  songs  of  joy  and  rever- 
ential praise,  was  stormed  and  destroyed  by  the  sav- 
age hands  of  idolatrous  barbarians.  We  gather, 
however,  from  his  somewhat  confused  and  hurried 
notice  of  the  first  movements  on  that  fatal  day,  that 
the  Jews,  encouraged  by  seeing  Titus  retire  into  the 
tower,  had  only  rested  for  a  little  space ;  during 
which  the  fire  had  crept  along,  bursting  out  anew  in 
the  inner  court,  and  then,  before  morning  dawned, 
they  made  another  attack  on  the  Romans  who  occu- 
pied the  court  of  the  Gentiles,  and  whose  orders  were 
to  extinguish  every  remaining  spark  of  the  recent 
conflagration.  Regardless  of  the  danger  that  threat- 
ened the  holy  house  by  this  near  approximation  of 
the  fire,  the  Jews  broke  forth,  and,  after  a  short  con- 
flict, were  repulsed  by  the  guard ;  who,  pressing 
close  upon  their  retreating  steps,  entered  with  them 
the  confines  where  Gentile  foot  was  forbidden  to 
tread,  and  fulfilled,  not  the  will  of  their  leader,  but 
the  mighty  purpose  of  the  God  of  heaven.  A  soldier, 
"  hurried  on  by  a  certain  divine  fury,"  snatched  a 
blazing  fragment  from  the  surrounding  ruin ;  and 
being  raised  on  the  shoulders  of  a  comrade,  he  thrust 
it  through  the  golden  frame-work  of  a  rich  window, 
opening  from  the  northern  range  of  those  chambers 
that  encircled  the  Temple.  A  few  moments,  and 


188  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

the  flames  burst  forth  that  told  the  fearful  tale  ;  the 
house  itself,  the  holy  and  beautiful  house  was  burn- 
ing— the  chosen  place  of  the  habitation  of  the  Most 
High  was  wreathed  in  clouds — not  as  those  which  of 
old  bespoke  the  visible  presence  of  Israel's  Almighty 
shield,  but  clouds  of  smoke,  and  sparkles  of  fire  that 
proclaimed  the  arrival  of  the  dreaded  end.  A  terrible 
outcry  burst  from  the  agonized  Jews ;  they  darted 
away  from  the  battle,  and  surrounded  the  sacred 
building,  utterly  reckless  of  their  own  lives,  and 
united  in  one  sole  purpose — that  of  staying  the 
flames.  Meanwhile  a  messenger  hastened  to  apprize 
Titus  of  this  unexpected  event,  and  immediately  he 
was  on  his  way  to  the  spot,  followed  by  his  officers, 
and  they  by  the  whole  army,  who,  in  one  tremendous 
rush,  bore  down  all  opposition,  trampled  on  the  Jews 
and  on  each  other,  and  many  fell,  yelling  with  agony, 
into  the  burning  mass  of  the  ruined  cloisters,  there 
to  perish  unheeded :  altogether  was  presented  a 
spectacle  of  such  demoniac  fury,  madness,  and  vio- 
lence, that  it  surely  seemed  as  though  all  hell  were 
called  together  to  rejoice  and  revel  over  the  awful 
scene. 

In  vain  did  Titus  command,  in  vain  did  he 
threaten  and  implore  ;  in  vain  was  each  imaginable 
method  tried  by  the  agitated  leaders  to  reduce  into 
something  like  subordination  the  maddened  multi- 
tude so  wisely  trained  to  order  and  obedience.  Each 
legion  was  like  a  legion  of  evil  spirits,  intent  only 
on  perpetrating  every  possible  outrage  against  that 
which,  uninjured,  would  have  enriched  them  al^ 


THE   HOLY   MOUNT.  189 

while  its  destruction  was  a  general  loss.  Each  who 
could  gain  access  to  the  sanctuary  was  eager  to 
lend  his  aid  in  feeding  the  flame  that  now  wrapped 
it  round.  The  altar  was  there,  and  piled  on  heaps 
on  every  side  of  it  lay  the  slaughtered  Jews.  They 
could  offer  no  other  resistance  than  their  bleeding 
bodies  to  the  polluting  approach  of  those  heathen 
spoilers ;  and  so  they  walled  it  round,  and  fell  in  a 
great  heap  of  slaughter  about  it,  and  formed  a  pile 
upon  its  top,  and  rolled  in  their  gore  upon  the  hal- 
lowed pavement,  and  covered,  literally  covered  to  a 
great  depth,  the  whole  surface  of  the  mount  of  the 
LORD'S  house.  Not  alone  the  armed  men  who  were 
marshalled  in  its  defence,  but  the  poor  famished 
citizens  rushed  into  the  press,  and  offered  their  de- 
fenceless throats  to  the  Roman  knife,  and  died  with 
arms  outstretched  towards  the  burning  Temple  of 
the  LORD.  Zion  awoke  in  all  her  streets,  and  in  all 
her  sorrowful  houses,  and  looked  forth  in  terror. 
Alas  !  alas  !  the  LORD  who  in  the  fire  of  his  majesty 
descended  on  Sinai,  and  spake  to  their  fathers,  and 
gave  them  a  covenant  of  peace — the  LORD  who  had 
oft,  in  the  fire  of  his  glory,  shone  upon  Moriah,  and 
with  the  beauty  of  his  Shechinah  brightness  caused 
the  sunbeam  to  fade  and  disappear — the  LORD  had 
now  kindled  upon  the  holy  hill  the  fire  of  his  wither- 
ing wrath ;  and  as  the  dark  red  flames  shot  up  to- 
wards heaven,  and  the  thick  black  smoke  streamed 
heavily  along  the  twilight  sky,  and  the  roar  and 
rush  of  the  crackling  mass  of  fire  at  times  prevailed 
even  above  the  roar  and  rush  of  infuriated  armies. 


190  JUDJ2A    CAPTA. 

and  the  cries  of  dying  men,  Zion  looked  forth  from 
her  battlements,  and  knew  that  the  crown  had  fallen 
from  her  head,  and  that  her  GOD  had  forsaken  her. 

Terrible,  most  terrible,  was  the  scene  !  The  high 
elevation  on  which  that  holy  house  was  planted  ren- 
dered it  visible  from  every  quarter,  and  imagination 
may  toil  in  vain  to  grasp  the  horrors  of  that  hour. 
Many  in  the  city  who  were  already  so  far  gone  in 
their  last  agonies  of  death  by  famine  and  pestilence 
as  to  have  been  long  time  speechless,  unclosed  their 
ghastly  lips  to  utter  an  expiring  outcry  of  lamenta- 
tion and  woe  for  the  house  of  the  LORD.  The  whole 
slope  of  Zion  was  overhung  with  faces,  gazing, 
some  in  the  stupefaction  of  horror,  others  distorted 
with  anguish  and  rage,  on  the  soul-harrowing  pros- 
pect. Was  that  the  Temple  towards  whose  gleam- 
ing beauty  they  were  wont  at  early  dawn  to  turn 
and  pray?  Was  that  the  consecrated  spot  within 
whose  guarded  precincts  even  the  pagan  rulers  of  a 
tributary  race  presumed  not  to  set  a  foot,  but  hum- 
bly sent  their  costly  gifts  to  be  laid  by  Jewish  hands 
wheresoever  they  saw  meet  to  place  them  ? 

Fiercely  and  more  fiercely  still  raged  the  spread- 
ing sea  of  fire,  as  the  very  innermost  recess,  the 
holy  of  holies,  now  yielded  to  the  burning  flame. 
There  were  strange  deeds  done  in  the  midst  of  the 
fire.  Some  of  the  priests  mounted  the  roof,  and 
tearing  thence  the  golden  spikes,  the  bases  of  which 
were  of  lead,  they  shot  them  as  arrows  at  the  sacri- 
legious foe.  Two  of  the  chief  men  among  them. 
Meirus  and  Joseph,  completed  their  work  by  casting 


THE  SPREADING  FLAMES.          191 

themselves  into  the  burning  mass,  deeming  it  a  priv- 
ilege to  die  by  the  fire  that  consumed  the  holy 
place.  Titus  and  his  fellows  had  forced  their  way 
to  the  inner  sanctuary  ere  yet  the  destruction 
reached  it,  and  caught  a  hasty  view  of  the  magnif- 
icence that  never  should  be  theirs  to  lord  it  over. 
During  the  interval,  much  spoil,  however,  was  se- 
cured ;  among  the  rest,  the  golden  candlestick,  the 
table  of  shew-bread,  and  many  costly  vessels  of 
gold,  were  seized,  together  with  the  sacred  rolls, 
the  oracles  of  God,  to  adorn  the  barbarous  triumph 
of  the  imperial  homicides ;  but  from  all  the  pol- 
lution that  it  had  undergone  the  house  was  purged 
by  fire,  and  in  that  fire  it  was  swallowed  up.  The 
very  hill  was  heated  to  such  a  pitch  as  to  scorch 
the  bodies  of  the  dying  who  covered  the  surface, 
trodden  down  by  the  enemy  in  masses  ;  the  iron- 
bound  shoes  of  the  Romans,  with  their  sharp  nails, 
at  once  crushing  and  piercing  the  writhing  heap 
over  which  they  ran  to  new  slaughters. 

In  the  remaining  cloister  of  the  outer  court,  six 
thousand  people,  chiefly  women  and  children,  had 
enclosed  themselves,  as  a  place  of  refuge.  This 
building  was  at  once  set  oil  fire  by  the  savage  sol- 
diery, who  suffered  not  one  of  that  large  number  to 
escape  with  life.  The  slaughter  of  that  day  cannot 
be  told,  even  such  as  was  confined  to  the  Mount 
Moriah  alone ;  and  when  all  was  completed,  when 
none  remained  on  whom  to  glut  their  ferocity,  nor 
any  ruin  that  they  could  farther  deface  by  fire, — 
when  the  remnant  of  the  garrison  had  retreated, 
17 


192  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

with  Simon  and  John  their  leaders,  over  the  "bridge 
that  crossed  the  Tyropeon  from  the  south-western 
corner  of  the  Temple  wall  to  Zion, — when  the 
echoes  of  the  mountains  had  ceased  to  reverberate 
with  Judah's  terrible  cries  of  anguish,  and  despair, 
and  death,  and  the  burning  heat  of  the  paved  courts 
had  been  somewhat  slaked  by  the  blood  that  first 
flowed,  then  curdled  and  coagulated,  blending  in  one 
hideous  mass  of  gore  the  mangled  bodies  that 
formed  its  covering, — then  the  abomination  of  deso- 
lation was  literally  set  up  in  the  holy  place.  The 
soldiers  brought  their  ensigns — choice  objects  of  their 
impious  worship  ! — and  planted  them  where  Solomon 
had  spread  forth  his  hands  towards  the  Holy  One 
of  Israel,  whose  presence  then  filled  the  house  with 
a  glory  before  which  none  could  stand.  Yes,  in  the 
sight  of  Zion,  beneath  the  gaze  of  her  agonized 
citizens,  was  this  foul  dishonour  consummated.  The 
Roman  eagles  were  set  over  against  the  eastern 
gate,  and  incense  was  burned,  and  adoration  paid  to 
the  senseless  idols ;  and  again  the  mountain  echoes 
awoke  to  send  back  the  thundering  shouts  and  ac- 
clamations of  that  heathen  host,  intoxicated  with 
blood,  and  overburdened  with  spoil. 

Josephus  was  there.  No  greater  condemnation 
can  be  written  against  him,  and  we  add  no  comment 
on  the  words. 

There  was  one  wall  of  the  holy  house  still  inac- 
cessible to  the  enemy,  and  on  it  a  company  of  the 
priests  remained  for  five  days,  pining  with  famine, 
and  probably  unmolested  by  the  soldiers3  that  their 


A   PARLEY.  193 

sufferings  might  be  prolonged.  At  the  end  of  this 
time  they  came  down  and  besought  mercy  of  Titus, 
only  asking  that  their  lives  might  be  spared.  The 
tyrant  mockingly  replied  that  their  time  of  pardon 
was  over,  that  the  very  holy  house  on  whose  account 
only  they  could  justly  hope  to  be  preserved,  was  de- 
stroyed, and  that  it  was  agreeable  to  their  priestly 
office  to  perish  with  the  house  to  which  they  be- 
longed. He  then  ordered  them  to  be  murdered. 
From  this  speech  we  are  tempted  to  surmise  that, 
had  he  succeeded  in  preserving  the  Temple,  he 
would  have  compelled  the  Jewish  priesthood  to  con- 
tinue their  service  before  the  demons  with  whose 
filthy  images  he  intended  to  pollute  it.  How  mer- 
ciful, then,  in  the  midst  of  judgment,  was  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel,  who  here,  even  here,  in  this  terrible 
visitation  of  seemingly  unmeasured  wrath,  so  wrought 
for  his  great  Name's  sake  that  he  would  not  give 
over  his  ancient  sanctuary,  or  his  ancient  people,  to 
such  blasphemous  abominations ! 

It  now  remained  for  a  parley  to  be  held  between 
the  Jewish  commanders  and  the  Roman  conqueror. 
The  bridge  just  before  mentioned  was  the  scene  of 
their  conference,  and  the  former  asking  mercy;  the 
latter  giving  them  a  specimen  of  his  oratorical  abili- 
ties. He  began  by  vaunting  the  prowess  of  the  Ro- 
mans, intermingling  his  boasts  with  much  abusive 
crimination  of  those  whom  he  addressed ;  and  end- 
ing a  string  of  mean  reproaches  by  demanding  that 
they  should  lay  down  their  arms,  and  surrender 
themselves  to  his  mercy.  To  this  they  answered, 


194  JUDJ2A    CAPTA. 

that  they  were  bound  by  an  oath  never  to  do  so ; 
but  if  he  would  permit  them,  with  their  wives  and 
little  ones,  to  go  forth  through  his  encompassing 
wall,  they  would  repair  to  the  desert,  and  leave  the 
city  to  him.  This  proposal  he  scornfully  rejected, 
and  ordered  the  soldiers  to  burn  and  plunder  the 
city.  Acra  alone  was  in  their  hands  as  yet,  and 
here  they  destroyed  the  repository  of  the  archives, 
the  council-house,  and  whatever  remained  to  under- 
go a  more  perfect  wreck ;  but  they  gained  not  much 
plunder,  the  Jews  having  carried  their  more  valua- 
ble effects  into  the  upper  city.  Instead  of  being  in- 
timidated by  the  spectacle  of  the  burning  town,  the 
people  put  on  cheerful  countenances,  saying  that 
their  miseries  were  now  about  to  be  terminated  by 
death.  Josephus  tried  again  and  again  so  to  work 
on  their  fears,  or  so  to  excite  their  hopes,  as  to  in- 
duce them  to  surrender  unconditionally ;  but  he  was, 
as  formerly,  met  with  taunts  and  well-deserved  re- 
proaches. He  revenges  himself  by  a  fresh  burst  of 
accusations  against  his  countrymen,  whom  he  inva- 
riably represents  as  the  veriest  monsters  of  tyran- 
nous cruelty  against  their  partners  in  affliction ;  and 
as  an  apologetic  preface,  no  doubt,  to  the  enormities 
of  his  heathen  allies,  still  to  be  detailed,  he  repre- 
sents the  destruction  of  the  remaining  Jews  as  an 
interposition  to  save  them  from  wanton  cannibal- 
ism ! 

Fain  would  we  pass  lightly  over  these  harrowing 
particulars  of  the  closing  scene.  Ten  days  elapsed 
from  the  destruction  of  the  Temple  ere  Titus  could 


DISHEARTENING    SPECTACLE.  195 

proceed  to  raise  banks  against  the  city  of  David ; 
and  then  eighteen  days'  labour  was  required  so  far 
to  complete  them  as  to  allow  of  planting  their  en- 
gines. They  were  opposed  to  the  last  in  these  oper- 
ations, but  more  faintly  and  by  a  diminished  num- 
ber ;  for  what  heart  could  endure,  or  what  hand  be 
strong  in  the  day  when  God  was  manifestly  dealing 
with  his  offending  people,  and  fulfilling  upon  them 
the  denunciations  with  which  they  were  familiar, 
though,  while  the  holy  mount  was  uninjured,  they 
could  not  believe  that  on  them  was  the  weight  of  the 
arrow  to  fall?  Hitherto,  one  look  towards  the  LORD'S 
house — ("  our  holy  and  beautiful  house,  where  our 
fathers  worshipped") — was  sufficient  to  inspire  every 
bosom  with  fresh  ardour ;  for  even  where  the  spirit 
of  national  devotion  was  not,  the  power  of  national 
pride,  and  confidence  in  their  peculiar  privileges,  and 
the  obstinate  habit  of  reiterating  the  boast  denoun- 
ced by  the  prophet,  "  The  evil  shall  not  overtake  nor 
prevent  us,"*  all  prevailed  to  inspire  them  with  reso- 
lution that  nothing  could  quell.  But  now,  what  saw 
they,  when,  habitually  and  involuntarily,  they  turned 
to  the  site  of  their  glorious  Temple  ?  A  mass  of 
black  and  shapeless  ruin,  from  the  midst  of  which 
arose  the  accursed  fumes  of  incense,  probably  the 
very  incense  stored  for  the  service  of  the  sanctuary, 
now  burning  before  the  idol  abomination,  the  stand- 
ard that  was  reared  aloft  to  mock  the  desolation 
wrought  by  its  worshippers.  No,  the  Jewish  heart 
could  not  endure,  the  Jewish  hand  could  not  be 

*  Amos  ix.  10. 


196  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

strong,  in  so  dark  a  day  of  rebuke  and  blasphemy. 
Accordingly  the  survivors,  who  had  laughed  to  scorn 
all  that  Rome  could  do,  now  enclosed  themselves, 
some  in  the  citadel,  others  in  the  subterranean  vaults 
and  caverns,  the  entrances  to  which  are  now  closed 
up,  and  hills  of  ruins  heaped  where  the  deepest  gul- 
ly of  the  interior  pass  then  cleft  the  city  in  twain, 
between  Zion  and  Ophel.  A  few  only  persevered 
in  manning  the  walls,  and  obstructing  the  work  of 
the  enemy :  these,  elated  by  their  recent  triumphs, 
wrought  cheerfully  and  energetically,  as  men  who 
have  but  one  more  feeble  obstacle  to  surmount. 

It  was  upon  the  weaker  part  of  the  wall,  which 
crested  the  Tyropean  valley,  that  an  impression  was 
at  length  made.  Titus  had  gained  possession  of 
Ophel  when  he  took  the  Temple,  and  consequently 
was  within  that  part  of  the  ancient  wall  which  ex- 
tended southward  to  the  valley  of  Hinnom,  and  then 
stretched  eastward  as  far  as  Siloam.  Some  of  the 
slighter  towers  in  this  partition  wall  gave  way  be- 
ibre  his  engines ;  and  had  the  garrison  retired  to 
their  impregnable  strong-holds,  Hippicus,  Mariamne. 
Phasaelus,  and  the  other  similar  towers,  they  might 
still  have  bade  defiance  to  the  utmost  power  of  the 
foe,  and  have  held  out  while  famine  spared  them ; 
but  a  panic  seized  them  all,  and  on  the  raising  of  a 
false  alarm  that  the  western  wall  of  Zion  had  fallen, 
they  burst  from  the  city,  and  madly  endeavoured  to 
force  a  passage  through  the  Roman  wall  below  Si- 
loam.  Failing  in  this,  they  yielded  to  utter  despair, 
and  fled  to  subterranean  passages  and  caverns,  per- 


ZION   TAKEN.  197 

haps  to  be  again  laid  open  to  the  eyes  of  their  de- 
scendants, when  they  who  come  of  them  shall  repair 
to  Zion,  to  rebuild,  to  restore,  to  clothe  in  tenfold 
beauty  what  Gentiles  have  long  trampled  down,  but 
never  have  been  permitted  to  raise  up.  That  bless- 
ing is  reserved  for  Judah  alone. 

Thus,  and  not  by  the  failure  of  its  ancient  defences, 
was  Zion  taken.  The  hills  yet  stood  about  Jerusa- 
lem, the  towers  and  bulwarks  of  Zion  still  frowned 
defiance  on  the  hostile  band,  and  her  palaces  rose 
proudly  from  the  swelling  ground,  "  beautiful  for 
situation  "  as  when  the  pious  David  laid  their  strong 
foundations  in  the  rocky  soil.  But  alas !  the  Lord 
no  longer  stood  around  his  people  ;  the  Highest  had 
forsaken  them,  the  Saviour  of  Israel  had  been  as  a 
wayfaring  man  that  tarrieth  but  for  a  night  and  de- 
parteth.  Scarcely  could  the  Roman  host  believe  that 
Judah's  arm  had  at  length  fallen  powerless,  and  that 
the  prey  round  which  they  had  for  months  in  fierce 
impatience  vainly  prowled,  was  theirs,  and  lay  de- 
fenceless at  their  mercy — Roman  mercy  !  Josephus 
says  that  the  soldiers  went  in  numbers  through  the 
lanes  of  the  city,  slaying  without  mercy  whomsoever 
they  found.  They  broke  into  the  stately  palaces, 
and  noble  mansions,  and  were  driven  thence  by  the 
loathsome  discovery  of  their  being  treasure-houses  of 
the  dead ;  their  spacious  apartments  were  filled  with 
corrupting  bodies,  for  whom  no  offices  of  devout  care 
due  from  the  living  to  the  departed  had  been  per- 
formed; for  whose  withering  remains  no  place  of 
burial,  no  hands  to  bury  them,  could  be  found. 


198  JUD.EA    CAPTA. 

Neither  this  nor  any  other  spectacle  of  human  woe 
could  move  the  iron  hearts  of  those  evil  and  cruel  men ; 
they  butchered  all  who  came  within  their  grasp,  set  fire 
to  the  houses,  and  in  the  lower  grounds  actually  saw 
those  fires  quenched  by  the  streams  of  human  blood 
that  flowed  down  upon  them.  The  ways  of  Zion 
mourned,  for  her  sons  and  her  daughters,  the  old  man 
and  the  suckling  fell  in  one  mass  of  indiscriminate 
carnage.  Titus,  the  clement  Titus,  as  history  loves 
to  call  him,  cordially  sanctioned  this  diabolical  cruelty, 
amusing  himself  the  while  by  inspecting  the  impreg- 
nable towers  which  he  confessed  he  never  could 
have  overthrown  by  means  of  men  or  of  machinery ; 
acknowledging  that  to  the  last  despairing  sally  of 
the  self-devoted  Jews  he  owed  his  conquest. 

When  the  soldiers  were  entirely  fatigued  with 
slaughter,  and  desired  rest,  the  hapless  remnant  of 
Zion  were  subjected  to  the  further  anguish  of  being 
conducted  to  the  courts  of  the  Temple,  paved  as  it 
was  with  death,  and  fearfully  desecrated  by  idol 
worship.  Here  a  ruffian,  named  Fronto,  was  deputed 
to  decide  the  doom  of  all.  The  old  men  were  butch- 
ered, together  with  all  such  as,  by  mutual  or  other 
accusation,  could  be  pointed  out  as  having  contrib- 
uted to  the  defence.  A  number  of  the  goodliest 
young  men  were  reserved  for  the  tyrant's  triumph 
in  Rome.  Of  those  above  seventeen  years  old,  he 
sent  one  numerous  portion  to  the  Egyptian  mines,  to 
suffer  more,  far  more  than  ever  did  their  fathers  in 
the  land  of  their  first  oppression ;  many  others  were 
sent  into  the  provinces,  "  as  a  present  to  them,"  says 


GREAT    SUFFERING.  199 

the  shameless  apostate  Josephus,  "  that  they  might 
be  destroyed  upon  their  theatres,  by  the  sword,  and 
by  wild  beasts ;  but  those  that  were  under  seventeen 
years  of  age  were  sold  for  slaves.  Now,  during  the 
days  when  Fronto  was  distinguishing  these  men, 
there  perished,  for  want  of  food,  eleven  thousand : 
some  of  which  did  not  taste  any  food  through  the 
hatred  their  guards  bore  to  them ;  and  others  would 
not  take  in  any  when  it  was  given  them."  The 
heartless  relator  does  not  add  that  these  last  were 
but  obeying  one  of  the  strictest  precepts  of  their  di- 
vine law,  in  rejecting  the  unclean,  polluted  offal  that 
the  blood-stained  hands  of  their  heathen  murderers 
tendered ;  offered,  probably,  before  their  faces  to  the 
idols  that  stood  in  the  holy  place. 

He  then  tells  us  that  the  extraordinary  number  of 
those  shut  up  in  the  siege  was  owing  to  the  circum- 
stance of  the  army  closing  upon  them  during  the 
days  of  unleavened  bread,  when  all  the  males  were 
assembled  there.  This  produced  famine,  pestilence, 
and  all  the  dreadful  aggravations  of  suffering  that 
we  have  been  compelled  to  contemplate ;  as  it  also 
mournfully  marks  the  withdrawal  from  them  of  the 
mercy  which  had  decreed  and  promised  that  while 
they  remained  true  to  their  covenant  with  the  Eter- 
nal, no  man  should  desire  their  land,  or  take  advan- 
tage of  their  absence  during  the  solemn  assemblies 
in  Jerusalem.  Under  any  other  circumstances,  the 
statement  would  be  incredible  that  sets  forth  the 
greatness  of  the  multitude  who  perished  in  and  after 
this  fearful  siege  ;  but  this  explains  and  confirms  it. 


200  JUD.EA    CAPTA. 

Simon  and  John  concealed  themselves  until  hun- 
ger compelled  them  to  sue  for  mercy :  the  latter  was 
condemned  to  perpetual  imprisonment,  which,  under 
such  gaolers,  could  not  be  of  very  long  continuance ; 
and  Simon  was  reserved  to  drag  his  chains  after  the 
triumphal  car  of  the  haughty  Roman,  and  then  to  be 
tortured  to  death  in  the  streets  of  the  imperial  city, 
while  the  conqueror  paused  in  his  march  until  the 
base  and  cowardly  deed  was  done.  Having  left 
none  in  Jerusalem  to  slaughter,  nor  more  plunder  to 
seize,  Titus  commanded  the  ruins  of  the  Temple  to 
be  entirely  demolished,  with  those  of  the  city,  leav- 
ing only  the  towers  of  Phasaelus,  Hippicus,  and 
Mariamne,  with  a  portion  of  the  western  wall,  stand- 
ing. He  then  celebrated  a  great  sacrifice  to  his  de- 
mons, feasted,  flattered,  decorated,  and  otherwise  re- 
warded his  followers  in  proportion  to  the  sanguinary 
fame  that  they  had  won  and  departed. 


THE   CLEMENT   TITUS.  201 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

SHALL  we  follow  the  imperial  savage  on  his  home- 
ward way,  with  the  sad  remnant  of  Zion's  captive 
children  ?  He  repaired  to  the  place  whence  he  set 
forth,  Csesarea,  and  the  birthday  of  his  brother 
Domitian  shortly  after  occurring,  he  celebrated  it, 
after  what  Josephus  calls  a  splendid  manner,  by  in- 
flicting, in  his  honour,  a  portion  of  the  cruelties  re- 
served for  the  helpless  and  inoffensive  Jews  ;  for,  be 
it  ever  borne  in  mind,  they  had  already  put  to 
death  all  whom  they  could  accuse  of  having  in  any 
way  resisted  their  arms,  and  those  who  remained 
alive  were  the  men  and  matrons,  the  youths  and  vir- 
gins of  Israel,  captured  in  the  city  of  David,  where, 
according  to  Josephus  himselfj  they  were  compelled 
to  remain  by  the  party  whom  he  calls  seditious ;  and 
who  all,  except  John  and  Simon,  had  been  slaugh- 
tered. Of  these  most  pitiable  victims,  the  clement 
Titus  took  more  than  two  thousand  five  hundred,  and 
on  this  day  caused  them  to  be  slain  by  fighting  with 
wild  beasts,  or  with  each  other,  or  being  burnt  alive, 
or  in  some  other  horrible  way :  for  Josephus  remarks, 
"Yet  did  all  this  seem  to  the  Romans,  when  they 
were  thus  destroyed,  ten  thousand  several  ways,  to 


202  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

be  a  punishment  beneath  their  deserts."  Upon  his 
father's  birthday,  shortly  after,  at  Berytus,  another 
and  a  greater  multitude  of  the  captives  were,  by  the 
same  merciful  Titus,  in  like  manner  tortured  to 
death.  At  Antioch  most  cruel  and  terrible  enormi- 
ties were  committed  against  the  peaceable  Jewish 
inhabitants,  on  charges  that  were  afterwards  proved 
to  be  false.  Among  these  outrages,  the  forcible  abo- 
lition of  their  sabbath  was  resorted  to ;  and  such  as 
would  not  sacrifice  to  idols,  which  included  nearly 
the  whole  body,  were  on  one  occasion  put  to  death. 
This  was  done  by  a  Greek  tyrant,  by  means  of  Ro- 
man soldiers,  whom  Titus  sent  to  him  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  progress  of  the  prince  through  Syria  was 
marked  by  numerous  halts  at  all  the  chief  cities, 
where  he  constantly  regaled  the  inhabitants  with  the 
spectacle  of  tortured,  mangled  Jews.  After  reject- 
ing, in  his  royal  caprice,  the  application  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Antioch  against  the  Hebrews  still  remaining 
among  them,  he  proceeded ;  and  in  his  circuitous 
march  again,  passed  by  Jerusalem,  where  once  more 
the  army  made  a  brief  but  diligent  search  among 
the  gory  ruins  for  any  treasure  that  might  remain ; 
and  some  they  dug  up. 

Titus  came  to  Rome.  It  is  altogether  sickening 
to  read  the  description,  as  penned  by  this  unworthy, 
this  contemptible  sycophant,  Josephus,  of  his  ovation 
there.  The  arch  of  Titus  stands  a  frowning  monu- 
ment of  what  has  been,  a  stern  attestor  of  what,  in 
the  course  of  divine  retribution,  is  yet  to  come. 
Hoisted  on  high,  in  a  gorgeous  car  of  triumph,  the 


BARBARIAN   TRIUMPH.  203 

proud  destroyers,  father  and  son,  received  the  hom- 
age of  a  people,  concerning  whom  it  may  truly  be 
said  that  they  and  their  rulers  were  worthy  of  each 
other.  There  was  a  splendid  show,  including  all 
that  art  or  arms  could  bring  together,  with  many 
images  of  the  demons  worshipped  by  Rome ;  and 
pictures  of  sacked  towns,  and  burning  palaces,  and 
smiling  landscapes  turned  into  utter  desolation  ;  and 
every  calamity  that  had  befallen  the  land  and  the 
people  of  Israel  during  this  dreadful  war.  But  this 
was  not  all  a  pictorial  illusion  ;  for  on  the  summit  of 
each  representative  group  was  placed  the  highest  in 
command  among  the  surviving  captives,  reserved  to 
torture  and  to  death,  as  the  recompense  of  his  cour- 
ageous patriotism. 

But  how  was  the  rear  of  these  sad  trophies 
brought  up  ?  The  spoils  of  every  other  land  and, 
city  sank  into  nothingness  before  the  grandeur  and 
the  worth  of  what  came  last.  The  golden  candle- 
stick with  its  seven  bright  lamps,  that  had  shed  their 
lustre  on  the  walls  of  thy  glorious  Temple,  O  Jeru- 
salem !  the  golden  table,  reserved  for  the  shew- 
bread,  that  also  dwelt  within  that  hallowed  sanctu- 
ary ;  and,  greatest  of  all — of  worth  more  precious 
than  the  whole  material  globe,  the  Law,  the  living 
word  of  the  Most  High  God,  wrapped  in  its  richest 
coverings,  and  borne  as  a  trophy,  the  worth  of  which 
could  only  be  estimated  by  the  anguish  of  those 
who  saw  it  rent  from  its  sacred  repository.  The  cap- 
tives of  Judah  were  there,  but  the  conscience-stricken 
Josephus  says  nothing  of  them,  save  that  among 
18 


204  JUD^A    CAPTA. 


them,  Simon  was  led,  with  a  rope  about  his  head, 
violently  drawn  and  deliberately  tortured  as  he  went 
along  ;  till,  arriving  at  the  forum,  his  miseries  were 
terminated  by  a  bloody  death  ;  on  the  official  intima- 
tion of  which  to  the  imperial  rulers,  the  sacrifices  of 
thankfulness  commenced,  ("  the  things  which  the 
heathen  sacrifice,  they  sacrifice  unto  devils,  not  unto 
God,")  prayers  were  offered  to  those  who  had  ears 
and  heard  not  ;  the  populace  were  feasted  ;  and  the 
memory  of  their  disastrous  work  of  desolation  was 
decreed  to  be  perpetuated  in  a  coin,  of  which  many 
specimens  remain  to  this  day,  sadly  attesting  the 
reality  and  the  prolonged  continuance  of  Judaea's 
desolate  captivity. 

We  hasten  to  turn  from  this  scene  of  proud  pomp, 
and  sanguinany  cruelty,  and  debasing  idolatry  ;  from 
the  seven-hilled  city,  ruling  over  the  kings  of  the 
earth;  from  Rome,  the  unchanged  and  unchangea- 
ble enemy  of  God  and  his  people  ;  Rome,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Babylon,  that  is  to  be  destroyed,  even  as  she, 
in  all  her  changes  of  government  and  religion,  has 
been  the  universal  destroyer  :  —  we  leave  her  to  bide 
her  time,  assured  that  the  judgment  of  God  over- 
hangs her  infamous  fanes,  and  temples  of  impeni- 
tent idolatry,  to  seek  once  more  the  blighted  hills 
and  deserted  plains  of  Judaea.  Is  this  Jerusalem  ? 
Alas, 

"  How  doth  the  city  sit  solitary  that  was  full  of 
people  ! 

"  How  is  she  become  as  a  widow,  she  that  was 
great  among  nations  !" 


SCENES    OF   DESOLATION.  205 

Shall  we  take  our  seat  upon  the  springing  grass 
that  scantily  begins  to  sprout,  where  the  fire  of  the 
departing  legion,  burning  their  now  useless  camp, 
ran  up  the  slope  of  the  mount,  destroyed  the  verdant 
blade,  and  scorched  the  olive  branches  that  had  not 
been  spared  in  the  general  wreck,  but  for  the  luxuri- 
ous shade  that  they  afforded  to  weary  and  baffled, 
and  irritated  soldiers?  They  are  gone,  and,  too 
richly  fertilized  by  the  life-blood  of  many  a  victim, 
slaughtered  here  in  the  first  fiery  conflict,  and  subse- 
quently in  the  wanton  malice  of  revenge,  the  soil 
has  begun  to  put  forth  its  vegetation ;  yet  timidly, 
tardily,  and  as  though  fearing  that  the  iron  hand  of 
hostile  men  would  again  suddenly  crush  it. 

The  loneliness  of  the  spot  is  fearful,  for  it  is  not 
the  loneliness  of  some  retired  and  solitary  hill,  where 
the  busy  hum  of  population  has  never  intruded,  where 
the  mountain  kid  has  browsed,  and  the  light  gazelle 
has  bounded,  and  the  wild  coney  burrowed,  and  the 
birds  have  made  their  nests  undisturbed,  and  sung 
among  the  branches :  no,  it  is  the  loneliness  of  death, 
the  harsh  reign  of  stern  and  vengeful  desolation. 
Of  all  that  rendered  Zion  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth, 
of  all  that  marked  Jerusalem  as  the  city  of  the  Great 
King,  of  all  that  ravished  the  eyes  of  the  ascending 
tribes,  when  in  festal  pomp  they  came  up  to  keep 
holiday  in  the  courts  of  the  LORD'S  house,  what  now 
remains  ?  Far  off,  at  the  opposite  western  extremity 
of  the  city,  a  portion  of  the  wall  is  seen  ;  it  had  been 
left  standing  as  a  shelter  to  the  legion  who,  for  a 
space,  were  commanded  to  encamp  without  it ;  keep- 


206  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

ing  guard,  as  though  the  very  ghost  of  slaughtered 
Israel  might  rise  and  re-occupy  the  beloved  city. 
At  one  point  rises  a  massive  tower,  that  ol  Hippicus 
and  nearer  to  the  eye  another,  and  another  yet, 
three  melancholy  watchers  looking  down  upon  their 
dead.  This,  and  this  only,  remains  of  the  tumultu- 
ous city  of  Israel's  solemnities.  All  beside  is  one 
confused,  undistinguished  ruin  ;  but  such  a  ruin !  the 
very  stones  of  Zion,  disjointed,  broken,  and  hurled 
on  heaps,  are  statelier  than  the  palaces  of  other 
lands.  Immense  in  size,  of  alabaster  whiteness,  pol- 
ished, and  gleaming  beneath  the  burning  ray,  they 
are  so  beautiful  that  the  eye  is  not  satisfied  with 
gazing,  nor  the  heart  weary  of  asking  who  did,  who 
could  accomplish  such  an  overthrow?  Nigh  unto 
the  foot  of  this  mountain,  the  graceful  Olivet,  rises  a 
platform,  the  symmetrical  proportions  of  which  can- 
not wholly  be  concealed,  though  fragments  of  mighty 
dimensions,  where  black  charcoal  intermingles  with 
the  dazzling  white  of  their  pure  marble,  and  fitful 
gleams  betray  that  a  strip  of  burnished  gold  has 
here  and  there  escaped  the  plunderer's  eye,  and  as 
now  perchance  washed  by  the  kindly  rain-drops  from 
the  coating  gore  that  long  disguised  it,  form  a  heap 
more  strange  and  wild  than  in  other  quarters :  and 
down,  down  into  what  must  erewhile  have  been  a 
valley  of  considerable  depth,  and  where  a  streamlet 
evidently  wandered,  have  been  hurled  such  wrecks 
as  would  rebuild  a  city  of  palaces,  rising  almost  to 
a  level  with  the  lofty  site  of  what  once  was  the 
Temple  of  the*  God  of  the  whole  earth. 


WRECKS    OF   SPLENDOUR.  207 

And  while  we  gaze  the  loneliness  is  broken,  for 
from  beneath  the  temporary  caverns  formed  by  shat- 
tered columns  and  prostrate  arches,  peers  forth  the 
beast  of  prey,  darting  from  one  dark  recess  to  another, 
with  the  short  rude  growl  that  speaks  of  unwelcome 
disturbance,  perchance  from  a  stronger  or  fiercer 
than  himself.  Alas !  beneath  those  mighty  wrecks 
of  architecture  there  still  remain  the  lingering  relics 
of  human  flesh  and  bone,  to  tempt  the  jackal,  and  the 
wolf,  and  the  lion  from  Jordan's  swell,  to  prowl  amid 
the  desolations  that  man,  more  savage,  has  prepared 
for  them  to  dwell  in ;  and  there  they  have  found 
shelter,  and  there  in  a  royal  and  a  hallowed  den  they 
have  already  brought  forth  their  young.  The  vul- 
ture, long  accustomed  to  follow  the  march  of  the 
Roman  caterer,  is  even  yet  wheeling  round,  above 
these  few,  scathed  olives,  with  a  screaming  inquiry 
whether  more  prey  is  at  hand ;  and  the  cormorant, 
the  bittern,  and  the  owl,  cry  out  from  the  windows 
of  those  desolate  towers,  that  they  alone  dwell  there. 

The  city  is  utterly  broken,  her  ancient  landmarks 
are  destroyed.  Builders  may  come  to  repair  the 
ruin,  and  credulous  superstition  may  lay  her  finger 
on  conjectured  sites,  and  say,  "  Here  will  I  build  me 
a  church,  and  there  will  I  raise  a  monument,  and 
over  such  a  spot  shall  an  inscription  be  graven ;" 
but  all  is  idle,  all  is  folly  and  vanity.  Zion,  Jerusa- 
lem, Moriah, — these  shall  stand,  distinct  and  utterly 
incapable  of  obliteration  by  all  that  man  can  do. 
The  valley  of  Jehoshaphat  shall  sink,  the  Mount  of 
Olives  shall  rise,  and  the  waters  of  Siloam  shall  go 
18* 


208  JUD.EA   CAPTA. 

softly  through  the  lapse  of  ages  during  which  the 
land  must  enjoy  her  Sabbaths,  and  Jerusalem  be 
trodden  under  foot  by  Gentile  usurpation ;  but  be- 
yond these  grand,  these  everlasting  outlines,  man 
must  be  content  to  grope  his  way  by  dubious  guess- 
work, and  to  form  devices  that  shall  end  in  nothing. 
Jerusalem  must  become  the  spoil  of  many  nations  ; 
she  may  pass  from  the  clutch  of  a  heathen  Roman 
emperor  into  that  of  a  nominally  Christian  Greek : 
she  may  be  seized  by  the  bold  Saracen,  then  rent 
from  him  by  Rome,  the  wolf  of  old,  now  mantled  in 
sheepskin,  and  masked  under  another  name,  but  not 
one  whit  less  bloodily  wolfish  than  of  yore ;  then 
re-conquered  by  the  wild  sons  of  Ishrnael ;  then 
snatched  for  a  little  space  by  Egypt,  and  relinquished 
again.  She  may  be  trodden  down  of  other  masters 
yet,  and  the  banners  of  all  nations  may  wave  on  her 
diminished  walls,  but  the  city  of  God  she  shall  never 
be  again,  till  her  warfare  is  accomplished,  her  in- 
iquity pardoned,  and  the  Redeemer,  her  own  Mes- 
siah, comes  to  reign  over  the  restored  tribes  of  her 
inheritance ;  for, 

"  Thus  saith  the  LORD  God  : 

"  Remove  the  diadem,  and  take  off  the  crown  ; 

"  This  shall  not  be  the  same  : 

"  Exalt  him  that  is  low,  and  abase  him  that  is  high. 

"  I  will  overturn,  overturn,  overturn  it ; 

"  And  it.  shall  be  no  more,  until  He  come  whose 
right  it  is ; 

«  And  I  will  give  it  HIM."* 

*  Ezek.  xxi.  26,  27. 


SCRIPTURAL    HOPE.  209 

The  overturning  has  not  ceased  ;  nay,  it  is  in  full 
operation  now,  and  the  horns  that  have  scattered 
Judah  are  pushing  in  all  directions  in  this  our  day. 
They  that  have  robbed  him,  they  that  have  perse- 
cuted him,  they  that  have  made  themselves  drunk 
with  his  blood,  and  kept  him  a  homeless  wanderer 
on  the  world's  surface,  while  they  fought  for  the 
prize  of  his  desolate  land  and  ruined  cities, — these, 
as  nations,  live  and  are  mighty  still.  The  hour  of 
their  judgment  is  not  come  ;  the  carpenters  who  are 
to  fray  the  horns  have  not  been  revealed ;  the  dry 
bones  of  Israel,  though  greatly  stirred,  and  in  some 
degree  united,  with  growing  sinews  and  deepening 
flesh,  have  not  yet  received  life  to  stand  on  their  feet 
and  to  go  forward.  Till  this  takes  place,  till  the 
times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled,  and  the  set  time  for 
the  Lord  to  favour  Zion  be  fully  come,  vain  are 
man's  conjectures,  and  vain  will  be  his  plans.  Can 
he  fertilize  the  barren  soil,  and  turn  the  dry  land  into 
springs  of  water  ?  If  so,  let  him  proceed,  and  there 
set  the  hungry,  and  build  them  cities  to  dwell  in. 
But  he  cannot ;  it  is  the  prerogative  of  the  Omnipo- 
tent arm  that  hath  smitten  and  scattered  to  bind  up 
and  re-assemble  the  flock  of  his  ancient  pasture,  the 
lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel ! 

They  know  this,  and  they  put  no  confidence  in 
man's  devices  for  their  weal ;  they  wait  for  a  signal 
from  above,  for  which  we  also  profess  to  wait,  even 
the  manifestation  of  Messiah,  their  King.  Thus 
they  pray :  "  O  comfort  the  mourners  of  Jerusalem, 
who  wait  for  thy  redemption  and  salvation ;  turn  the 


210  JITD^A    CAPTA. 

captivity  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  let  the  Re- 
deemer come  to  Zion  !" 

Not  a  threat  recorded  in  the  twenty-sixth  chapter 
of  the  Book  of  Leviticus,  from  the  fourteenth  verse 
to  the  fortieth,  but  has  been,  and  still  is,  literally  ful- 
filled upon  the  people  and  on  the  land  of  Israel. 
Who  shall  dare  to  pause  at  this  point,  and  not  pro- 
ceed as  the  LORD  proceeds,  in  the  same  breath,  on 
the  same  subject,  and  with  the  same  literal  sig- 
nificancy?  "If  they  shall  confess  their  iniquity, 
and  the  iniquity  of  their  fathers,  with  their  trespass 
which  they  trespassed  against  me,  and  that  also 
they  have  walked  contrary  unto  me,  and  that  I  also 
have  walked  contrary  unto  them,  and  have  brought 
them  into  the  land  of  their  enemies, — if  then  their 
uncircumcised  hearts  be  humbled,  and  they  then  ac- 
cept of  the  punishment  of  their  iniquity  ;  then  will 
I  remember  my  covenant  with  Jacob,  and  also  my 
covenant  with  Isaac,  and  also  my  covenant  with 
Abraham  will  I  remember,  and  I  will  remember  the 
land.  The  land  also  shall  be  left  of  them,  and  shall 
enjoy  her  sabbaths,  while  she  lieth  desolate  without 
them ;  and  they  shall  accept  of  the  punishment  of 
their  iniquity,  because,  even  because  they  despised 
my  judgments,  and  because  their  soul  abhorred  my 
statutes.  And  yet  for  all  that,  when  they  be  in  the 
land  of  their  enemies,  I  will  not  cast  them  away, 
neither  will  I  abhor  them,  to  destroy  them  utterly, 
and  to  break  my  covenant  with  them,  for  I  am  the 
LORD  their  God.  But  I  will  for  their  sakes  remem- 
ber the  covenant  of  their  ancestors,  whom  I  brought 


NATIONAL   BLESSINGS.  211 

forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  in  the  sight  of  the 
heathen,  that  1  might  be  their  God.  I  am  the 
LORD." 

Again,  in  the  twenty-eighth  chapter  of  the  Book 
of  Deuteronomy,  from  the  fifteenth  verse  to  the  end, 
the  afflictions  that  should  overtake  the  people  when 
once  they  had  provoked  the  LORD  to  pour  upon  them 
the  full  cup  of  wrath,  are  detailed  in  language  that 
makes  the  heart  of  man  quail  while  he  listens  to  it ; 
every  particular  even  of  the  final  siege,  and  of  the 
terrible  gloom  of  the  captives,  offered  for  sale  to 
their  enemies  in  such  numbers  that  buyers  could  not 
be  found,  which  was  the  case  when  the  Romans  pre- 
vailed over  them.  In  the  thirtieth  chapter,  from  the 
first  to  the  tenth  verse,  the  promise  of  final  blessing 
is  given.  Who  shall  reverse  it?  Who  shall  say 
that  Israel,  sinning  nationally,  punished  nationally, 
scattered  nationally,  and  by  an  amazing  miracle 
nationally  preserved,  shall  not  as  a  nation  receive 
the  fulfilment  of  what  is  here  set  forth  ?  "  And  it 
shall  come  to  pass,  when  all  these  things  are  come 
upon  thee,  the  blessing  and  the  curse,  which  I  have 
set  before  thee,  and  thou  shalt  call  them  to  mind 
among  all  the  nations  whither  the  LORD  thy  God 
hath  driven  thee,  and  shalt  return  unto  the  LORD  thy 
God,  and  shalt  obey  his  voice  according  to  all  that 
I  command  thee  this  day,  thou  and  thy  children,  with 
all  thine  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul ;  that  then  the 
LORD  thy  God  will  turn  thy  captivity,  and  will  have 
compassion  upon  thee,  and  will  return  and  gather 
thee  from  all  the  nations  whither  the  LORD  thy  God 


212  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

hath  scattered  thee.  If  any  of  thine  be  driven  out  into 
the  outmost  parts  of  heaven,  from  thence  will  the 
LORD  thy  God  gather  thee,  and  from  thence  will  he 
fetch  thee :  and  the  LORD  thy  God  will  bring  thee 
into  the  land  which  thy  fathers  possessed,  and  thou 
ehalt  possess  it ;  and  he  will  do  thee  good,  and  mul- 
tiply thee  above  thy  fathers.  And  the  LORD  thy 
God  will  circumcise  thine  heart,  and  the  heart  of  thy 
seed,  to  love  the  LORD  thy  God  with  all  thine  heart 
and  with  all  thy  soul ;  that  thou  mayest  live.  And 
the  LORD  thy  God  will  put  all  these  curses  upon 
thine  enemies,  and  on  them  that  hated  thee,  which 
persecuted  thee.  And  thou  shalt  return  and  obey 
the  voice  of  the  LORD,  and  do  all  his  commandments 
which  I  command  thee  this  day.  And  the  LORD  thy 
God  will  make  thee  plenteous  in  every  work  of  thine 
hand,  in  the  fruit  of  thy  body,  and  in  the  fruit  of  thy 
cattle,  and  in  the  fruit  of  thy  land,  for  good;  for 
the  LORD  will  again  rejoice  over  thee  for  good,  as  he 
rejoiced  over  thy  fathers,  if  thou  shalt  hearken  unto 
the  voice  of  the  LORD  thy  God,  to  keep  his  com- 
mandments and  his  statutes,  which  are  written  in 
this  book  of  the  law,  and  if  thou  turn  unto  the 
LORD  thy  God  with  all  thine  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
soul." 

There  is  no  dubiousness  here.  In  both  instances, 
the  wrath  that  was  threatened  perfectly  describes, 
with  historical  exactness,  not  only  what  the  annals 
of  Gentile  lands  declare  to  have  been  done  upon 
Judah  and  Jerusalem  at  and  after  the  last  siege  of 
the  city  by  Titus,  but  also  what  in  our  own  day  we 


VISIBLE    FULFILMENT.  213 

see  to  be  in  most  parts  of  the  world  the  actual  con- 
dition of  the  people;  while  the  desolatian  of  the 
land,  and  the  ruined  aspect  of  the  city, — Zion 
ploughed  like  a  field,  Jerusalem  become  heaps,  and 
the  mountain  of  the  LORD'S  house  as  a  high  place 
of  the  forest. — are  testified  by  eye-witnesses,  and 
have  been  beheld  by  not  a  few  of  ourselves.  In  both 
instances  this  wrath  is  described  as  being  followed 
by  repentance  and  a  turning  to  the  LORD  on  the  part 
of  the  whole  house  of  Judah  and  of  Israel  combined: 
the  pardoning  mercy  of  their  God,  and  a  full  resti- 
tution to  all  the  privileges  that  of  old  were  theirs, 
including  the  covenanted  grant  of  the  fruitful  land, 
which  remains  barren  arid  waste,  as  an  appointed 
sign  that  Israel  is  not  yet  forgiven  and  "  at  hand  to 
come."  Strange  indeed  is  the  ingenuity  that  can, 
and  far  too  daring  is  the  boldness  that  will,  attempt 
to  explain  away  what  God  hath  not  only  spoken  but 
still  confirms  by  great  signs  and  wonders  before  us, 
by  the  truly  miraculous  preservation  of  the  Jewis1 
people,  sifted  among  all  nations,  yet  never  mingled 
with  any ;  retaining  the  seal  of  the  covenant ;  keep- 
ing unchanged  their  sabbath  days;  and  observing 
their  peculiar  ordinances  even  now  in  many  places, 
and  sometimes  every  where,  at  the  hazard  of  their 
lives.  Not  to  dwell  on  the  no  less  miraculous  fact, 
that  a  land  the  richest  in  the  whole  world  has  never 
been  brought  into  cultivation  by  any  of  the  various 
lords  who,  through  eighteen  centuries,  have  succes- 
sively been  permitted  to  rule  over  it.  It  has  been 
often  remarked  that  infidelity  is  the  highest  stretch 


214  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

of  credulity,  and  in  reference  to  this  subject  we  musr 
needs  acknowledge  that  so  it  appears.  The  man 
who  in  the  face  of  all  this  evidence  asserts  that  the 
Jewish  people  are  not  to  be  nationally  restored,  im- 
plies that  what  God  hath  spoken  He  will  not  so  per- 
form; and  he  who  admits  that  daring  negation  i» 
credulous  enough  to  believe  anything. 


MOURNFUL    CONTRASTS.  215 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THERE  is  not  a  more  touching  passage  in  the  Jew- 
ish service-books,  which  amount  to  several  volumes, 
than  one  of  the  mournful  chants  appointed  for  the 
ninth  day  of  Ab.  It  will  probably  be  new  to  the 
greater  part  of  our  readers ;  for  our  ignorance  of 
what  passes  in  the  synagogues,  and  among  the  Jews 
generally,  is  profound.  Were  it  otherwise,  we  might 
perhaps  attain  to  a  more  scriptural  understanding 
of  their  position  in  reference  to  other  things ;  but  we 
pass  on  to  give  the  poetical  antithesis,  which  loses 
much,  very  much,  by  its  transmutation  into  another 
tongue  from  the  majestic  Hebrew  of  the  original. 

"  Joy  as  fire  burnt  within  me,  when  I  reflected  on 
my  going  forth  from  Egypt ; 

"  But  now  I  am  awakened  to  lamentation,  when  1 
remember  my  going  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  Then  Moses  sang  the  song  which  shall  never  be 
forgotten,  when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt. 

"  But  Jeremiah  lamented  with  sorrow,  lamenta- 
tion, and  woe,  when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  My  house  was  prepared,  and  the  cloud  abode 
thereon,  when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt ; 

"  But  the  wrath  of  God  rested  on  me  as  a  cloud 
when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 
19 


216  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

"  The  waves  of  the  sea  roared,  and  stood  up  as  a 
wall,  when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt ; 

"  But  the  waters  overflowed  my  head,  and  over- 
whelmed me,  when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  Corn  descended  from  heaven,  and  the  rock  issued 
forth  water,  when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt ; 

"  Bat  I  was  satiated  with  wormwood  and  gall,  and 
bitter  waters,  when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  1  arose  early  and  continued  until  even,  around 
Mount  Horeb,  when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt; 

"But  I  was  called  to  mourn  by  the  waters  of 
Babylon  when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  The  glory  of  the  Lord  was  visible  as  a  consum- 
ing fire  before  me  when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt ; 

"  But  I  was  doomed  to  slaughter  by  the  sharpened 
sword  when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  Sacrifice,  meat-offering,  and  the  anointing  oil, 
were  prepared,  when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt ; 

"  But  the  peculiar  people  were  taken  and  led  as 
sheep  to  the  slaughter,  when  I  went  forth  from  Jeru- 
salem. 

"  Sabbaths  and  festivals  were  instituted,  signs  and 
wonders  performed,  when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt : 

"  But  fasting,  mourning,  and  vexatious  pursuit, 
when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  How  goodly  were  the  tents,  and  the  four  stand- 
ards, when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt ! 

"But  it  was  the  tents  of  Ishmaelites,  and  the 
camps  of  the  uncircumcised,  when  I  went  forth  from 
Jerusalem. 

"The  jubilee  and  year  of  release  for  the  land 


MOURNFUL    CONTRASTS.  217 

to  rest  were  instituted  when  I  came  forth  from 
Egypt; 

"  But  I  was  sold  for  ages,  and  cut  off  with  severity, 
when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  The  mercy-seat,  ark,  and  the  stones  of  memorial, 
were  prepared,  when  I  came  forth  from  Egypf ; 

"  But  sling-stones,  and  destructive  weapons,  when 
1  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  There  were  Levites,  priests,  and  seventy  elders, 
when  1  came  forth  from  Egypt ; 

"  But  taskmasters,  oppressors,  sellers,  and  buyers, 
when  1  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  Moses  fed  me,  and  Aaron  led  me,  when  I  came 
forth  from  Egypt ; 

"  But  Nebuchadnezzar  and  the  Emperor  Hadrian 
oppressed  me  when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  When  we  prepared  for  battle  the  Lord  was  there, 
when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt. 

"  But  He  was  removed  far  from  us,  and  was  not 
near  us,  when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  The  secret  place  within  the  veil,  and  the  order 
of  shew-bread,  when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt ; 

"  But  wrath  poured  on  me,  covered  me  as  a  thicket, 
when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  Burnt-offerings,  peace-offerings,  and  sacrifices  by 
fire  for  a  sweet  savour,  when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt; 

"  But  the  precious  children  of  Zion  were  thrust 
through  with  the  sword,  when  I  went  forth  from 
Jerusalem. 

"  Bonnets  of  honour  were  appointed  to  be  worn 
for  respect  when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt ; 


218  JUDAEA   CAPTA. 

"  But  it  was  hissing,  shouting,  shame  and  vexation 
that  I  experienced  when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  The  plate  of  gold,  with  dominion  and  power, 
were  conferred  on  me,  when  I  came  forth  from 
Egypt; 

"  But  there  was  none  to  help,  and  the  crown  was 
down,  when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  Sanctification,  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  and  the 
tremendous  Divine  presence,  was  I  blessed  with 
when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt ; 

"But  filthy  and  polluted  with  the  unclean  spirit 
was  I,  when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  I  had  song,  salvation,  and  the  sounding  trumpets, 
when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt ; 

"  But  the  cries  of  the  children,  and  the  groans  of 
the  wounded,  when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  The  table,  candlestick,  whole  burnt-offerings  and 
incense,  when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt ; 

"  But  idols,  abominations,  and  graven  images, 
when  I  went  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

"  Thanksgiving  offerings,  the  testimony,  and  the 
order  of  Temple  service,  when  I  came  forth  from 
Egypt; 

"  But  the  want  of  the  Talmud,  and  the  discontin- 
uance of  the  daily  sacrifice,  when  I  went  forth  from 
Jerusalem. 

"The  LORD  God  of  Hosts  showed  us  wonders, 
when  I  came  forth  from  Egypt ; 

"  And  He  will  cause  his  Divine  presence,  and  his 
service,  to  return  to  the  midst  of  Jerusalem." 

How  dearly  do  the  children  of  Israel  cleave  to  the 


THE   SECOND   TEMPLE.  219 

promise  of  future  restoration !  It  was  uppermost  in 
the  thoughts  of  their  brethren,  who,  forewarned  of 
the  desolations  that  should  come  on  the  city,  and 
the  Temple,  and  the  land,  still  made  it  the  subject 
of  the  very  last  inquiry  that  they  were  permitted  to 
address  to  their  Divine  Master  upon  earth :  "  LORD, 
wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the  kingdom  to 
Israel  ?"  The  answer  was  in  the  spirit  of  the  pro- 
phetic word,  "  though  it  tarry,  wait  for  it ;"  for  Jesus 
replied,  "  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the  times  and  the 
seasons  which  my  Father  hath  put  in  his  own  power." 
Yet,  in  despite  even  of  this  testimony,  we  often  hear 
the  Jew  condemned  as  a  carnal  speculatist,  because 
he  confidently  looks  forward  to  the  same  event,  not 
knowing  the  time  or  the  season,  but  perfectly  certain 
that  they  are  decreed  and  settled,  and  will  arrive  at 
the  end  of  the  appointed  days. 

The  desolation,  the  utter  destruction  of  the  Tem- 
ple, is  a  most  striking  incident  indeed  when  we  look 
back  to  the  time  of  Ezra,  and  glance  along  the  term 
of  its  duration.  Ezra  says,  "  And  the  elders  of  the 
Jews  builded,  and  they  prospered  through  the  proph- 
esying of  Haggai  the  prophet,  and  Zechariah,  the 
son  of  Iddo."  HaggaPs  language  is  exceedingly 
beautiful,  calculated  above  measure  to  stimulate  and 
encourage  his  enterprising  brethren  : 

"  Go  up  to  the  mountain,  and  bring  wood, 

"  And  build  the  house ;  and  I  will  take  pleasure 
in  it. 

"  And  I  will  be  glorified,  saith  the  LORD." 
19* 


220  jtm^EA  CAPTA. 


And  again,  in  the  same  magnificent  strain,  he  pre- 
dicts the  result  : 

"  Who  is  left  among  you 

"  That  saw  this  house 

"  In  her  first  glory  ? 

"  And  how  do  ye  see  it  now  ? 

"  Is  it  not  in  your  eyes  in  comparison  of  it  as  no- 
thing ? 

"  Yet  now  be  strong,  O  Zerubbabel,  saith  the 
LORD  ; 

•c  And  be  strong,  O  Joshua,  the  son  of  Josedech  the 
high  priest  ; 

"  And  be  strong,  all  ye  people  of  the  land,  saith 
the  LORD,  and  work  : 

u  For  I  am  with  you,  saith  the  LORD  of  hosts  : 

"  According  to  the  word  that  I  covenanted  with  you 

"  When  ye  came  out  of  Egypt, 

"  So  my  spirit  remaineth  among  you  : 

"  Fear  ye  not. 

"  For  thus  saith  the  LORD  of  hosts  ; 

"Yet  once,  it  is  a  little  while, 

"  And  I  will  shake  the  heavens,  and  the  earth, 

"  And  the  sea,  and  the  dry  land  ; 

"  And  I  will  shake  all  nations, 

"  And  the  desire  of  all  nations  shall  come  : 

"  And  I  will  fill  this  house  with  glory,  saith  the 
LORD  of  hosts. 

"  The  silver  is  mine,  and  the  gold  is  mine,. 

"  Saith  the  LORD  of  hosts  : 

"  The  glory  of  this  latter  house  shall  be  greater 
than  of  the  former, 


THE  GLORY  OF  THE  HOUSE.        221 

"  Saith  the  LORD  of  hosts: 

"  And  in  this  place  will  I  give  peace, 

"  Saith  the  LORD  of  hosts." 

The  heart  trembles  in  reading  such  words,  and 
faints  to  think  that  it  was  upon  this  same  sacred 
house,  which  the  LORD  deigned  so  to  encourage  his 

servants  to  build,  the  fire  of  desolation  was  kindled 

1  > 

and  the  abominable  pollution  of  the  grossest  heathen 
idolatry  was  perpetrated  amidst  its  ruins ;  and  that 
now,  after  the  ploughshare  had  torn  up  its  founda- 
tions, a  Moslem  mosque  occupies  the  hallowed  site. 
Did,  then,  the  word  of  the  LORD  fail?  We  know 
that  there  was  no  visible  manifestation  of  the  Divine 
presence  as  in  the  former  house,  the  chief  glory  of 
which  was  in  the  Shechinah,  the  bright  cloud  that 
rested  on  the  mercy-seat,  and  at  times  had  filled  the 
whole  building.  Neither  was  there  the  ark  of  the 
covenant,  nor  the  tables  of  the  Law,  nor  Aaron's 
budded  rod,  nor  the  pot  of  manna,  the  angel's  food 
with  which  he  fed  his  people  in  the  wilderness. 
How,  then,  was  the  glory  of  that  house  made  to 
surpass  the  glory  of  the  former?  How  did  the 
LORD  in  an  especial  manner  give  peace,  where  war, 
the  fiercest,  bloodiest,  most  dreadfully  destructive 
war  that  ever  raged  among  men,  sent  rivers  of  blood 
over  the  ruins  of  that  goodly  house  ?  There  is  not, 
there  cannot  be  any  answer  to  this,  save  in  repeat- 
ing that  One  greater  than  the  Temple,  greater  than 
Solomon  who  builded  the  first  and  most  glorious 
Temple,  was  there.  That  the  Desire  of  all  nations, 
the  Prince  of  peace,  came  with  the  offer  of  peace, 


222  JUD^A   CAPTA. 

and  would  have  gathered  Jerusalem's  children  into 
a  secure  hiding-place  from  every  enemy,  even  when 
the  Roman  had  already  established  his  iron  rule 
upon  her  sacred  hills.  From  the  eighth  day  of  his 
infancy,  when  Simeon  and  Anna  welcomed  him, 
"  the  glory  of  his  people  Israel,"  unto  that  holy  habi- 
tation, even  to  the  eve  of  his  cruel  betrayal  and 
more  cruel  death,  that  Temple  was  the  loved  resort 
of  Israel's  acknowledged  Messiah ;  and  by  his  pres- 
ence it  was  glorified  beyond  all  former  glory,  and  in 
its  courts  he  taught  his  doctrine,  and  bestowed  the 
gift  of  peace.  His  Name  is  made  hateful  to  the 
Jews  through  the  abominable  idolatries,  the  mur- 
ders, the  profanations  of  holy  places  and  holy  things, 
and  the  iniquitous  persecutions  that  have  been 
heaped  upon  themselves,  under  the  false  assumption 
of  that  name  by  evil  men ;  and  the  bringing  in 
of  equally  evil  systems  under  the  same  false  pre- 
tence ;  so  that  the  plainest  meaning  of  their  own 
prophetic  books  is  set  aside  rather  than  they  will  ac- 
knowledge that  they  point  to  what  is  presented  be- 
fore their  eyes  as  Christianity.  Do  we  condemn 
them  for  thus  turning  away  from  a  portion  of  the 
Divine  revelation?  Let  us  also  fear,  lest  many 
among  ourselves  be  found  involved  in  the  same 
charge ;  for,  assuredly,  there  is  nothing  more  clearly, 
more  forcibly,  more  unequivocally  set  forth  in  scrip- 
ture than  is  the  eternal,  immutable  promise  of  the 
Most  High  to  bring  back  the  nation  of  Israel,  to 
cause  them,  as  such,  again  to  inherit  the  places  now 
long  desolate,  and  to  fulfil  to  the  letter,  no  less  than 


MISCHIEVOUS   ERRORS.  223 

in  its  spiritual  signification,  the  covenant  ratified  to 
Abraham  concerning  the  gift  of  the  land  of  Canaan 
to  his  descendants  for  ever.  Spiritualize  as  we  may, 
in  reference  to  the  Old  Testament  prophecies,  we 
cannot,  as  Christians,  evade  the  force  of  the  apostle's 
exposition  of  them  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  his 
Epistle  to  the  Romans.  On  the  Continent,  the  im- 
pression prevails  that  it  is  an  integral  part  of  Chris- 
tianity to  hate  and  to  persecute  the  Jew  ;  here} 
where  all  odious  and  cruel  prejudice  against  them  is 
rapidly  dying  away,  they  find  that  the  great  test  of 
religious  zeal  on  their  behalf  appears  to  be  the  ear- 
nest desire  to  rob  them  of  their  nationality,  and  to 
blend  them  in  an  undistinguished  mass  with  the 
Gentiles  around  them ;  while  at  the  same  time  that 
we  press  on  them  the  saving  truth  of  their  Messiah 
having  once  appeared  as  a  victim,  to  put  away  s'm 
by  the  offering  of  himself,  we  dispute  another  sacred 
and  inseparable  truth  held  firmly,  in  strong  faith  and 
enduring  hope,  by  them,  that  the  Messiah  shall  yet 
again  come,  in  visible  glory,  as  a  King  over  all  the 
earth,  and  more  especially  as  the  King  of  Israel,  to 
reign.  The  old  divines  among  us  were  fond  of  the 
saying,  "  No  cross,  no  crown ;"  our  creed,  as  heldup 
to  the  Jews,  appears  to  consist  in  the  assertion,  "  A 
cross,  but  no  crown." 

Blessed  be  the  LORD  God  of  Israel !  the  number 
of  those  who  remain  under  this  impression  is  daily 
diminishing,  and  the  clear,  strong,  piercing  light  of 
revelation  is  shining  more  and  more  through  break- 
ing clouds,  soon  to  roll  away,  and  leave  its  lustre 


224  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

unimpeded.  There  was,  we  freely  admit;  a  need  for 
the  spreading  of  this  vail  over  the  nations ;  for  with- 
out it,  how  should  the  scriptures  have  been  fulfilled, 
that  decreed  to  Judah  a  lot  of  universal  sorrow,  and 
shame,  and  obloquy  ?  How  could  the  people  of  the 
LORD  have  become  "  an  astonishment,  a  proverb, 
and  a  by- word  among  all  nations ;"  how  could  it 
have  been  that  among  the  nations  they  should  find 
no  ease,  neither  the  sole  of  their  foot  have  had  any 
rest ;  but  a  trembling  of  heart,  and  failing  of  eyes, 
and  sorrow  of  mind,  and  none  assurance  of  life,  from 
generation  to  generation,  had  not  the  predicted  de- 
lusion fallen  upon  the  Gentile  world  to  say,  "  The 
two  families  which  the  Lord  hath  chosen,  he  hath 
even  cast  them  off?"  But  for  this,  Christians  in 
every  age  would  have  combined  their  efforts  to  bring 
about  the  work  of  restoration  before  the  set  time  was 
even  approaching;  and  the  outcast  of  Israel,  the 
dispersed  of  Judah,  would  have  been  regarded  as 
exiled  kings,  whose  diadem  had  been  taken  away 
for  a  short  season,  to  be  restored  in  tenfold  splen- 
dour. The  LORD  hath  overruled  all  things  to  the 
furtherance  of  his  own  sovereign  purposes,  hitherto 
of  wrath ;  now  of  returning  mercy :  and  surely  it 
ill  becomes  us,  when  He  would  withdraw  the  cover- 
ing from  our  eyes,  to  grasp  it  with  perverse  tenacity, 
and  in  act,  if  not  in  word,  to  declare  that  we  will 
not  see. 

We  have  looked  upon  Jerusalem  as  it  was.  when 
the  Roman  host  advanced  to  compass  it  round ;  and 
upon  Jerusalem,  as  it  also  was  when  the  work  of 


DAWNING   MERCIES.  225 

desolation  had  been  completed,  and  the  destroying 
army  withdrawn  from  its  lonely  ruins.  Jerusalem  as 
it  is  presents  an  object  of  most  surpassing,  thrilling 
interest,  through  the  astonishing  change  that  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years  is  observable,  first  in  the 
minds  and  intents  of  those  who  visit  the  holy  city, 
and  secondly  in  the  result  of  their  investigations. 
The  Christian  religion,  in  its  purity,  seems  to  have 
prevailed  there  just  while  the  church  of  the  circum- 
cision, a  small  band  of  those  who  had  escaped  to 
Pella,  found  a  refuge  among  the  ruins  of  Zion,  and 
clung  to  the  mouldering  stones  of  their  beloved  city 
and  Temple.  They  were,  however,  disturbed  in 
their  desolate  retreat  by  the  Roman  tyrants,  who, 
fearful  lest  one  of  David's  royal  house  might  yet  es- 
cape to  claim  the  kingdom,  invaded  even  this  harm- 
less band,  and  murdered  their  chief  pastor.  From 
the  period  of  Hadrian's  Roman  town,  raised  upon 
her  holy  hills,  even  to  this  day,  has  Jerusalem  been 
a  cage  of  unclean  birds :  never  more  so  than  when 
those  who  called  themselves  Christians  held  sway 
over  her.  Superstition,  the  most  grovelling  that  can 
be  imagined,  and  the  most  fearfully  opposed  to  the 
word  of  God,  with  one  hand  heaped  defilement  on 
the  mountain  of  the  LORD'S  house,  and  with  the 
other  groped  for  miraculous  crosses,  found  or  feigned 
legends  It  at  enabled  her  to  fix  on  this  and  that  spot 
as  distinguished  by  some  event  in  gospel  history,  and 
reared  an  idol  fane  upon  each  fabulous  site.  The 
ncoler  Turk  made  choice  of  the  mountain  which 
God  had  delighted  to  hallow,  and  ignorant  man 


226  JUD^A    CAPTA. 


to  profane  ;  and  there  he  built  his  mosque,  and 
fenced  again  the  ancient  platform  of  the  Temple 
courts,  and,  divinely,  though  unconsciously  in- 
structed, he  guards  it  to  this  day,  alike  from  friend 
and  foe. 

Now,  instead  of  digging  for  impossible  mementoes 
of  events  that  left  no  merely  material  trace  behind 
them,  to  mar  their  deep  spiritual  significancy,  our 
Christian  tourists  approach  Jerusalem  intent  on  the 
discovery  of  national  antiquities,  and  to  connect  the 
present  era  with  her  past  majesty  and  power.  To 
this  momentous  revolution  in  the  public  mind  we 
are  indebted  for  the  formation  of  a  link  that  we  hes- 
itate not  to  say  were  essentially  necessary  to  a  right 
view  of  the  LORD'S  work  ;  for  by  it  we  are  gradually 
establishing  the  identity  of  sites  which,  as  they  are 
set  forth  with  the  most  perfect  topographical  exacti- 
tude in  prophetic  Scripture,  we  must  necessarily 
keep  in  view,  while  looking  for  its  fulfilment  Let 
any  simple-minded  believer  in  the  inspired  character 
of  the  sacred  writings  read  the  following  declaration, 
with  a  full  regard  to  its  closing  words,  and  he  cannoi 
but  enter  into  our  meaning,  nor,  we  should  think,  fail 
to  arrive  at  the  same  conclusion. 

"  Thus  saith  the  LORD, 

"  Which  giveth  the  suri  for  a  light  by  day, 

"  And  the  ordinances  of  the  moon  and  of  the  stars 
for  a  light  by  night, 

"  Which  divideth  the  sea  where  the  waves  thereof 
roar; 

"  The  LORD  of  hosts  is  his  name  ! 


SACRED    PROMISES.  227 

"  If  those  ordinances  depart  from  before  me,  saith 
the  LORD, 

"  Then  the  seed  of  Israel  also  shall  cease 
"From  being  a  nation  before  me  for  ever. 
"  Thus  saith  the  LORD  ; 
"  If  heaven  above  can  be  measured, 
"  And  the  foundations  of  the  vjarth  searched  be- 
neath, 

c;  I  also  will  cast  off  all  the  seed  of  Israel, 
"  For  all  that  they  have  done,  saith  the  LORD. 
"  Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  LORD, 
"  That  the  city  shall  be  built  to  the  LORD, 
"  From  the  tower  of  flannaneel  unto  the  gate  of 
the  corner, 

"  And  the  measuring  line  shall  yet  go  forth 
"  Over  against  it  upon  the  hill  Gareb, 
"  And  shall  compass  about  to  Goath, 
"  And  the  whole  valley  of  the  dead  bodies,  and  of 
the  ashes, 

"  And  all  the  fields  unto  the  brook  of  Kedron, 
"  Unto  the  corner  of  the  horse  gate  toward  the 
east, 

"  Shall  be  holy  unto  the  LORD  ; 
"  It  shall  not  be  plucked  up^ 
"  Nor  be  thrown  down  any  more  FOR  EVER."* 
The  whole  of  this,  and  the  preceding  chapter  of 
Jeremiah,  if  read  consecutively,  and  without  a  break, 
bears  upon  the  subject  with  a  force,  that  if  not  irre- 
sistibly convincing,  must  be  met  with  a  power  of  re- 
pulsion that  we  should   tremble  to  possess.     That 

*  Jeremiah  xxxi.  35—40. 

20 


228  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

the  prediction  is  yet  unfulfilled,  one  glance  at  the 
two  concluding  lines  must  prove ;  and  immediately 
preceding  the  above  passage  is  the  promise  of  a  new 
covenant,  in  virtue  of  which  the  Law  shall  be  writ- 
ten in  the  hearts  of  the  house  of  Israel.  It  was  of 
old  addressed  to  their  ears,  with  the  covenant,  "  Do 
this,  and  live ;"  but  that  law,  so  pure  in  its  nature, 
and  so  strict  in  its  requirements,  they  could  not  ful- 
fil :  they  failed  in  their  part  of  the  covenant,  and  so 
brake  it.  But  better  things  are  in  reserve  for  Israel.  • 
the  LORD  will  write  that  holy  law  not  on  tables  of 
stone,  but  in  their  inward  parts  ;  and  they  shall  ren- 
der the  willing  service  of  loving,  obedient  sons,  where 
as  bondsmen,  ruled  by  fear,  they  were  not  able  to 
bear  the  yoke  of  observances,  into  the  deep  spiritual 
tendency  of  which  their  hearts  could  not  enter.  The 
passage  is  so  important,  and  has  withal,  by  some  un- 
discriminating  believers,  been  so  grievously  per- 
verted from  its  true  meaning  by  a  confounding  of 
"  the  law"  with  "  the  covenant,"  that  we  cannot  do 
better  than  cite  it  here. 

"Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the  LORD, 

"  That  I  will  make  a  new  covenant 

"  With  the  house  of  Israel,  and  with  the  house  of 
Judah ; 

"  Not  according  to  the  covenant  that  I  made  with 
their  fathers, 

"  In  the  day  that  I  took  them  by  the  hand 

"  To  bring  them  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt , 

"  Which  my  covenant  they  brake, 


WHAT    SHALL    BE.  229 

"  Although  I  was  an  husband  unto  them,  saith  the 
LORD  : 

"  But  this  shall  he  the  COVENANT 

"  That  1  will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel ; 

"  After  those  days,  saith  the  LORD, 

;:  I  will  put  my  LAW  into  their  inward  parts, 

"  And  write  it  in  their  hearts  ; 

"  And  I  will  be  their  God, 

"  And  they  shall  be  my  people. 

"  And  they  shall  teach  no  more 

"  Every  man  his  neighbour,  arid  every  man  his 
brother, 

"  Saying,  Know  the  LORD  : 

u  For  they  all  shall  know  me, 

"  From  the  least  of  them  unto  the  greastest  of 
them,  saith  the  LORD  : 

"  For  I  will  forgive  their  iniquity, 

"  And  I  will  remember  their  sin  no  more."* 

And  then,  without  a  break,  follows  the  gracious 
and  glorious  declaration  before  quoted. 

What  a  solemn  interest  does  all  this  attach  to  the 
recent  discoveries  of  learned  and  godly  men,  who 
have  made  it  their  business  and  delight  to  explore 
the  ancient  boundaries,  and  to  set  up  again  the  long 
forgotten  landmarks  of  the  holy  city  !  The  tower  of 
Hippicus  is  now  identified;  and  springing  from  a 
piece  of  ancient  masonry,  single  stones  of  which 
reach  to  the  enormous  length  of  twenty-four  feet, 
has  been  found  the  commencement  of  an  arch,  that 
evidently  formed  part  of  the  bridge  from  the  Temple 

*  Jeremiah  xxxi.  31. 


230  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

to  the  city  of  David.  Nay,  the  very  mosque  itself 
nas  been  subjected  to  the  eager  gaze  of  enterprising 
Englishmen,  arid  discoveries  made  that  justify  the 
belief  in  the  existence  of  foundations,  over  which, 
indeed,  the  plough  has  passed,  though  above,  not 
one  stone  was  left  upon  another.  Who  could  prevail 
to  dig  up  the  subterranean  relics  of  that  stupendous 
architecture  ?  The  press  teems  with  discoveries, 
adding  perpetually  to  the  store  of  local  information 
already  possessed ;  and  we  cannot  choose  but  look 
upon  Jerusalem  not  merely  as  the  dwindled  skeleton 
of  what  once  was,  but  as  the  swelling  germ,  half 
rising  from  its  earthy  bed  in  promise  of  what  is  to  be. 
Once  more,  from  the  Mount  of  Olives,  we  will  in 
imagination  look  down,  and  contemplate  the  existing 
scene :  and  truly  we  may  still  apply  the  lamenting 
apostrophe,  "  How  doth  the  city  sit  solitary,  that  was 
full  of  people !"  for  an  immense  track  of  ground  lies 
before  us,  destitute  of  a  single  building,  not  even  a 
hovel  or  a  shed  appearing,  where  stately  streets  and 
crowded  marts  once  attested  the  populousness  of  the 
mighty  Jerusalem.  The  present  walls  enclose  a 
mere  fraction  of  it :  they  pass  over  the  brow  of  Zion, 
leaving  to  the  plough  and  to  the  browsing  flock  the 
greater  proportion  of  the  ground  where  David's  city 
stood.  Ophel,  the  long,  narrow  descent,  reaching 
from  the  Temple  wall  to  the  valley  of  Hinnom, 
bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Tyropean,  and  on  the 
east  by  the  valley  of  Kedron,  and  appropriated  to 
the  multitude  who  served  the  Temple,  bears  not  a 
dwelling  on  its  desolate  slope :  nor  can  the  eye  dis- 


JERUSALEM    AS    IT    IS.  231 

tinguish  the  point  whence  rose  the  wall  that  girt  it 
in.  For  a  precipitous  descent  into  the  valley  be- 
neath, we  now  behold  a  swelling  mass  of  ground, 
the  accumulation  of  many  centuries,  where  no  doubt 
lies  hidden  a  deep  substratum  of  giant  ruins,  block- 
ing up  the  entrance  to  subterranean  caves.  The  site 
of  fort  Antonia  is  occupied  by  the  house  of  the  Turk- 
ish governor,  arid  a  slender  minaret  marks  the  mem- 
orable area,  forming,  as  in  olden  time,  the  north-west 
corner  of  the  enclosure  where  stands  the  alien  occu- 
pant of  a  spot  that  long  was,  and  ere  long  again 
shall  be.  most  holy  unto  the  LORD.  We  look  with 
something  like  toleration,  if  with  complacency  we 
cannot  look,  on  Ishmael's  strong  grasp  of  Isaac's 
sacred  mountain ;  for  though  he  there  worships  a 
god  whom  his  fathers  knew  not,  he  has  purged  the 
place  of  idols;  and  we  must  needs  rejoice  that  the 
impious  mummeries  enacted  in  other  parts  of  the 
city,  are  sternly  held  aloof  from  contaminating  the 
threshing-floor  of  Araunah. 

An  irregular  line  of  unequal  fortification,  excUi- 
ding  the  greater  part  of  Bezetha,  and  other  tracks 
that  lay  within  the  ancient  city,  runs  straggling  out 
and  in,  embracing  the  melancholy  mass  of  broken 
buildings  that  loiter  where  the  hands  of  different 
generations  have  placed  them,  bearing  no  resem- 
blance to  what  was,  and  probably  destined  to  con- 
tribute but  little  portion  to  what  is  about  to  be.  Un- 
til within  a  few  short  years,  animal  life  was  at  a  low 
ebb  in  Jerusalem ;  intellectual  life  at  a  lower,  and 
spiritual  life  there  was  none  ;  this  was  Zion,  whom 
20* 


232  JUD^A    CAPTA. 

no  man  sought  after ;  but  now  from  every  part  of 
the  world  the  Gentiles  congregate,  they  scarcely 
know  for  what,  in  her  gloomy  streets;  and,  "like 
doves  to  their  windows,"  her  own  exiled  race  flock 
unto  her,  their  hopes  rekindling  under  an  influence 
that  never  yet  moved  the  seed  of  Jacob  in  vain. 

While  Gentiles  of  all  climes  and  creeds  plan,  each 
after  the  model  that  his  own  imagination  approves* 
as  best,  the  LORD  God  of  Israel  still  keeps  silence ; 
and  they  who  know  his  name,  feel  that  their  voca- 
tion is  to  watch,  to  pray,  to  wait.  The  whole  Bible 
is  one  manual  of  prayer  for  such  as  look  for  the  ap- 
pearing of  Israel's  Messiah  in  power  and  great  glory, 
to  conquer  and  to  reign.  He  went  into  a  far  coun- 
try, far  beyond  the  ken  of  mortal  eye,  to  receive  for 
himself  a  kingdom,  arid  to  return.  Long  has  he  been 
gone,  and  long  and  sore  have  been  the  afflictions  of 
those  whom  He  alone  can  comfort.  Zion  has  been 
desolate  and  a  widow,  her  children  moving  to  and 
fro,  crushed  under  a  dispensation  of  unequalled 
wrath.  Those  of  every  other  kindred,  and  people, 
and  nation,  and  tongue,  to  whom  he  hath  graciously 
extended  the  covenant  of  peace,  and  admitted  to  a 
spiritual  participation  in  the  blood-bought  blessings 
of  his  grace,  have  likewise  formed  a  small  and  a 
scattered  remnant,  through  much  tribulation  enter- 
ing the  kingdom  of  heaven.  While  he  is  absent,  all 
the  foundations  of  the  earth  are  out  of  course,  vanity 
is  written  on  its  possessions,  and  pollution  on  its  joys. 
Wre  wait,  we  watch,  we  wrestle  in  strong  supplica- 
tion for  the  signs  that  shall  herald  his  approach,  tell 


COMING   MERCIES.  233 

ing  us  in  language  not  to  be  misunderstood,  the 
Lord  is  at  hand. 

Very  imperfectly  have  we  followed  through  the  sa< 
stages  of  its  mournful  fall,  the  city,  concerning  which 
the  LORD  once  said  that  He  had  chosen  it,  yea,  de- 
sired it  for  his  habitation.  We  have  seen  how  Judsea 
was  laid  waste,  Jerusalem  made  a  heap,  and  the 
children  of  the  covenant  slaughtered,  or  carried 
away  into  the  cruellest  captivity,  the  most  wide  and 
prolonged  dispersion  ever  known  among  men. 
Shall  we  then  say,  in  the  language  of  unbelieving 
doubt  "  Hath  God  forgotten  to  be  gracious  ?  Hath 
He  cast  off  for  ever  ?"  No,  we  know  that  the  fulness 
of  the  cup  of  troubling  of  which  Jerusalem  hath 
drank  the  dregs,  and  wrung  them  out,  is  a  sure 
earnest  of  the  abundance  of  that  cup  of  blessing  re- 
served for  her  when  the  days  of  her  mourning  are 
ended.  The  city  shall  be  builded  again,  and  the 
desolate  wastes  inhabited,  and  the  people  shall  feed 
and  lie  down,  and  none  shall  make  them  afraid. 

"  Sing,  O  daughter  of  Zion  ; 

"  Shout,  O  Israel : 

"  Be  glad  and  rejoice  with  all  the  heart, 

"  O  daughter  of  Jerusalem. 

"  The  LORD  hath  taken  away  thy  judgment, 

"  He  hath  cast  out  thine  enemy ; 

"  The  King  of  Israel,  even  the  LORD,  is  in  the  midst 
of  thee ; 

"  Thou  shalt  not  see  evil  any  more. 

"  In  that  day  it  shall  be  said  to  Jerusalem,  Fear 
thou  not; 


234  JUDAEA    CAPTA. 

"  And  to  Zion,  Let  not  thine  hands  be  slack. 

"  The   LORD   thy   God,  in  the  midst  of  thee,  is 
mighty ; 

"  He  will  save,  He  will  rejoice  over  thee  with  joy  ; 

"  He  will  rest  in  his  love ;  He  will  joy  over  thee 
with  singing. 

"  I  will  gather  them  that  are   sorrowful  for  the 
solemn  assembly, 

"  Who  are  of  thee, 

"To  whom  the  reproach  of  it  was  a  burden. 

"  Behold,  at  that  time,  I  will  undo  all  that  afflict 
thee : 

"  And  I  will  save  her  that  halteth,  and  gather  her 
that  was  driven  out, 

"  And  I  will  get  them  praise  and  fame 

"  In  every  land  where  they  have  been  put  to  shame. 

"  At  that  time  will  I  bring  you  again, 

"  Even  in  the  time  that  I  gather  you: 

"  For  I  will  make  you  a  name  and  a  praise 

"  Among  all  the  people  of  the  earth, 

"  When  I  turn  back  your  captivity  before  your 
eyes, 

"  SAITH  THE  LORD."* 

*  Zeph.  iii.  H 


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The  narrative  is  admirably  sustained — the  waywardness  of  the  unre- 
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bound  in  cloth." — Auburn  Journal. 

"  One  of  the  happiest  productions  of  the  author.  The  narrative  is 
well  sustained,  and  the  personages  and  character  are  true  to  nature." 
— Commercial  Advertiser. 

COMBINATION. 

"This  is  a  tale,  founded  on  facts,  from  the  gifted  pen  of  Charlotte  Eliz- 
abeth. It  is  well  written,  and  contains  the  very  best  of  advice.  It  lays 
down  with  great  force  the  mighty  truth,  that  without  Religion  there 
can  be  no  virtue  ;  and  that  without  the  fear  and  love  of  God,  man  will 
inevitably  be  dashed  on  the  rocks  of  irredeemable  ruin.  Religion  is  the 
Sheet  Anchor,  the  only  protection  to  hold  by  in  the  hour  of  violent 
temptation  ;  but  if  that  be  lost,  all  is  over.  Such  little  works  as  these 
are  eminently  calculated  to  produce  a  vast  amount  of  good  ;  and  there- 
fore let  the  heads  of  families  place  them  upon  their  table  for  the  benefit 
of  their  children. 

"  In  no  better  way  could  an  evening  be  spent  than  by  having  it  read 
aloud,  that  a  warning  may  be  taken  from  the  fblly  of  others,  and  that 
the  course  which  has  led  them  to  ignominy  and  disgrace  may  be  most 
carefully  avoided."— Boston  American  Traveller. 

THE  DAISY— THE  YEW  TREE, 

Chapters  on  Flowers. 

Three  most  delightful  little  volumes,  made  up  in  part  from 
her  very  popular  Flower  Garden  Tales  for  those  who  prefer 
them  in  smaller  volumes. 

(7) 


Books  Published  and  for  Sale  by  M.  W.  Dodd. 

JUD/EA  CAPTA. 

'Judaea  Capta,'  the  last  offering  from  the  pen  of  this  gifted  and  pop- 
ular writer,  will  be  esteemed  as  one  of  her  best  works.  It  is  a  graphic 
narrative  of  the  invasion  of  Judea  by  the  Roman  legions  under  Vespa- 
sian and  Titus,  presenting  affecting  views  of  the  desolation  of  her  towns 
and  cities,  by  the  ravages  of  iron-hearted,  bloodthirsty  soldiers,  and  of 
the  terrible  catastrophe  witnessed  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
The  narrative  is  interspersed  with  the  writer's  views  of  the  literal  ful 
filment  of  prophecy  concerning  the  Jews,  as  illustrated  in  their  extra- 
ordinary history,  and  with  remarks  contemplating  their  returning  pros- 
perity. Her  occasional  strictures  on  the  history  of  the  apostate  Josephus, 
who  evidently  wrote  to  please  his  imperial  masters,  appear  to  have 
been  well  merited.  The  work  is  issued  in  an  attractive  and  handsome 
volume." — Christian  Observer. 

"If  the  present  should  prove  to  be  Charlotte  Elizabeth's  last  work, 
she  could  not  desire  to  take  her  departure  from  the  field  of  literature 
with  a  better  grace  ;  and  we  doubt  not  that  it  will  be  considered,  if  not 
the  best,  yet  among  the  best  of  her  productions.  It  is  full  of  scripture 
truth,  illustrated  by  the  charm  of  a  most  powerful  eloquence  ;  and  no 
one,  we  should  suppose,  could  read  it  without  feeling  a  fresh  interest 
in  behalf  of  the  Jewish  nation,  and  a  deeper  impression  of  the  truth 
and  greatness,  and  ultimate  triumph  of  Christianity." — Albany  Daily 
Advertiser. 

"  This  volume  contains  a  description  of  some  of  the  most  terrific 
scenes  of  which  this  earth  has  been  the  theatre.  Rut  instead  of  con 
templating  them  merely  as  a  part  of  the  world's  history,  it  takes  into 
view  their  connection  with  the  great  scheme  of  Providence,  and  shows 
how  the  faithful  and  retributive  hand  of  God  is  at  work  amidst  the 
fiercest  tempest  of  human  passion.  The  work  contains  no  small  por- 
tion of  history,  a  very  considerable  degree  of  theology,  and  as  much 
beautiful  imagery  and  stirring  eloquence  as  we  often  find  within  the 
same  limits.  Those  who  have  the  other  works  from  the  same  pen, 
will  purchase  this  almost  of  course  :  and  they  need  have  no  fear  that 
it  will  disappoint  any  expectation  which  its  predecessors  may  have 
awakened." — Albany  Religious  Spectator. 

Also  just  published — 

*THE  CHURCH  VISIBLE   IN   ALL  AGES." 

A  work,  making  attraction  to  the  youthful  as  well  as  the 
more  mature  mind,  a  deeply  interesting  and  important  subject. 


All  the  foregoing  are  printed  on  clear,  white  paper,  and 
bound  to  match,  making  an  attractive  and  beautiful  set  of 
books.  They  are  sold  in  sets  or  separately,  varying  from 
25  to  50  cents  per  volume.  When  purchased  for  Sabbath 
Schools,  a  liberal  deduction  is  made  from  the  above  prices* 
(8) 


A  NEW  UNIFORM  EDITION 

OF 

THE  WORKS 

OF 

CHARLOTTE  ELIZABETH. 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY  MRS.  H.  B.  STOWE,  AND  A  BEAU- 
TIFUL PORTRAIT  ON  STEEI^,  OF  THE  AUTHORESS. 

This  Edition  of  Charlotte  Elizabeth's  works,  for  the  three 
great  requisits  of  Legibility,  Economy  and  Elegance,  chal- 
lenges a  comparison  with  any  work  in  the  market.  The 
two  volumes  already  published  contain  Ten  hundred  and 
twenty-five  large  octavo  pages,  and  22  separate  productions, 
which  are  sold  for  4  Dollars  ;  in  clear  open  type,  beautiful 
paper,  and  the  handsomest  of  binding  in  English  cloth.  In 
half  cloth  they  are  sold  at  3  Dollars.  Other  volumes,  unifonr. 
with  the  two  already  published,  will  be  added  as  soon  as  suni<- 
cient  materials  are  obtained  of  which  to  compose  them 
Several  of  those  contained  in  the  volumes  now  out  are  in 
Poetry,  none  of  which  have  before  been  published  hero. 
Extracts  from  Reviews. 

"  One  of  the  largest,  and  handsomest  octavos  of  the  season, 
at  once  a  creditable  specimen  of  the  handywork  of  the  pub- 
lisher, and  an  evidence  of  the  popularity  of  the  writer — the 
paper  and  print  are  all  that  the  admirers  of  the  Text  could 
reasonably  desire. 

We  learn  by  the  Personal  Recollections,  which  Mrs.  Stowe 
justly  places  at  the  head  of  her  writings,  that  the  writer, 
now  Mrs.  Charlotte  Elizabeth  Tonna,  (the  wife  of  a  British 
Officer,)  is  the  daughter  of  a  late  eminent  clergyman  of  the 
Establishment,  whose  family  claims  high  descent ;  that«she  is 
the  survivor  of  two  children,  and  that  she  has  enjoyed  all 
the  advantages  of  early  culture  and  refined  intercourse. 
These  sketches  of  her  life  and  residences,  her  family,  friends, 
and  associations,  run  through  a  period  of  some  forty  years, 
as  we  infer  from  some  early  incidents  of  her  chequered  for- 
tunes, (for  names  and  dates  are  scrupulously  avoided,)  and 
are  wrought  with  "  the  picturesque  effect  of  romance."  Her 
fair  American  endorser,  just  quoted,  thinks  "no  piece  of 
autobiography  in  the  language  can  compare  with  them  in 


(2) 

richness  of  feeling  and  description,  and  the  power  of  exciting 
interest." — Newark  Daily  Advertiser. 

We  have  here  the  writings  of  one  of  the  most  gifted  fe- 
males of  the  age,  published  in  a  form  which  cannot  fail  to  be 
enduringly  attractive  and  popular.  They  are  noble  octavo  vol- 
nmesjwith  excellent  paper,  clear  and  beautiful  type,  and  in 
firm  and  handsome  binding.  The  publisher,  as  well  as  the 
authors  of  such  works  as  these,  are  to  be  reckoned  among 
the  benefactors  of  their  country  and  the  world. — Daily 
American  Citizen. 

Charlotte  Elizabeth's  works  have  become  so  universally 
known,  and  are  so  highly  and  deservedly  appreciated  in  this 
country,  that  it  has  become  almost  superfluous  to  praise 
them.  We  doubt  exceedingly  whether  there  has  been  any 
female  writer  since  Mrs.  Hannah  Moore,  whose  works  are 
likely  to  be  so  extensively  and  so  profitably  read  as  hers. 
She  thinks  deeply  and  accurately,  is  a  great  analyzist  of  the 
human  heart,  and  withal  clothes  her  thoughts  in  most  appro- 
priate and  eloquent  language.  The  present  edition,  unlike 
any  of  its  predecessors  in  this  country,  is  in  octavo  form,  and 
makes  a  fine,  substantial  book,  which,  both  in  respect  to  the 
outer  and  the  inner,  will  be  an  ornament  to  any  library. — 
Albany  Argus. 

These  productions  constitute  a  bright  relief  to  the  bad  and 
corrupting  literature  in  which  our  age  is  so  prolific,  full  of 
practical  instruction,  illustrative  of  the  beauty  of  protestant 
Christianity,  and  not  the  less  abounding  in  entertaining  de- 
scription and  narrative. — Journal  of  Commerce. 

She  writes  as  she  feels — her  pen  portrays  her  true  senti- 
ments— and  the  tone  which  pervades  her  writings,  is  one  of 
reverence  for  purity  in  morality  and  religion. — Boston  Mer- 
cantile Journal. 

In  justice  to  the  publisher  and  to  the  public  we  add  that 
this  edition  of  Charlotte  Elizabeth's  works  will  form  a  valu- 
able acquisition  to  the  Christian  and  Family  Library.— 
Christian  Observer. 

Mr.  Dodd  has  this  time  borne  off  the  palm,  without  a  ques- 
tion, and  all  who  admire  Charlotte  Elizabeth,  (and  they  are 
thousands)  will  be  eager  to  manifest  their  grateful  regard  for 
such  an  instance  of  enterprise  and  taste,  by  purchasing,  asr 
soon  as  possible,  the  volumes  in  whose  issue  these  qualities  so 
distinctly  appear.  The  introduction,  by  Mrs.  Stowe,  is  short, 
but  beautiful  and  appropriate. — Christian  Reflector. 


Books  Published  and  for  Sale  by  M.  W.  Dodd. 

IN  ADDTION  TO  THE  FOREGOING  IS  ALSO  PUBLISHED, 
MEMOIRS  OF  REV.  JOHN  WILLIAMS, 

Missionary  to  Polynesia.  By  Rev.  Ebenezer  Prout,  of  Hal- 
stead.  1  vol.  12mo. 

"Mr.  Dodd  has  published  a  fine  edition  of  Prout's  Memoirs  of  Rev. 
John  Williams,  Missionary  to  Polynesia.  The  lives  of  few  men  afford 
more  ample  material  for  an  instructive  and  interesting  biography  than 
that  of  Williams.  His  ardent,  energetic,  and  successful  labori  as  a 
Missionary  of  the  Cross,  are  almost  without  parallel.  His  self-denying 
and  eminently  prosperous  efforts  in  Polynesia  have  been  extensively 
before  the  public  in  the  '  Missionary  Enterprises^  and  the  friends  of 
missions  every  where  hold  him  in  affectionate  and  melancholy  re- 
membrance as  the  '-Martyr  of  Erromanga.'  The  author  of  the  Me- 
moir now  published,  has,  without  drawing  largely  upon  the  facts  with 
which  the  Christian  public  are  already  familiar,  produced  a  volume 
of  intense  interest.  The  work  is  not  merely  the  eulogy,  but  the  his- 
tory of  the  active  and  efficient  life  of  a  man  whose  works  constantly 
epoke  his  praise,  even  to  the  hour  of  his  tragic  death.  We  take  plea- 
sure in  commending  the  excellent  mechanical  execution  of  the  vol 
ume."— 

MEMOIR   OF  THE   LIFE,  LABORS,   AND   EXTENSIVE 
USEFULNESS  OF  THE  REV.  CHRISTMAS  EVANS, 

A  Distinguished  Minister  of  the  Baptist  Denomination  in 
Wales.  Extracted  from  the  Welsh  Memoir  by  David  Phil- 
fips.  1  vol.  12mo.  With  portraits. 

«  One  or  two  specimens  of  the  preaching  of  this  celebrated  Welsh 
divine  have  been  extensively  read  in  this  country,  and  have  been  suffi 
cient  to  mark  the  author  as  a  man  of  extraordinary  genius.  We  are 
glad  to  know  more  of  him.  The  memoir  before  us  gives  a  succint 
account  of  his  life  and  labors,  and  presents  the  portraiture  of  a  man 
of  great  talents,  eminent  piety,  and  most  amiable  character.  There 
are  also  several  specimens  of  his  writings  which  are  exceedingly  in- 
teresting, and  an  account  of  the  oiigin,  nature,  and  influence  of  San- 
demanianism,  of  which  Evans  was  well  nigh  a  victim,  more  complete 
and  satisfactory  than  any  thing  we  have  ever  seen,  except  Andrew 
Fuller's  work  on  the  subject.  The  memoir  is  a  valuable  addition  to 
our  stock  of  religious  reading.  It  is  well  printed,  ana  adorned  with  a 
portrait  of  Evans,  the  features  of  which  are  Welsh  enough." — N.  Y. 
Evangelist* 

THE  ADVANCEMENT  OF  RELIGION  THE  CLAIMS 

OF  THE  TIMES. 

By  Andrew  Reed,  D.  D.,  with  a  Recommendatory  Introduc- 
tion by  Gardiner  Spring,  D.  D.    1  vol.  I2mo. 
Dr.  Spring  says,  "  At  the  request  of  the  publishers  I  have  paid  some 
attention  to  the  work  of  Dr.  Reed,  with  the  view  of  expressing  my 
humble  judgment  of  its  merits.    The  reverend  author  is  favorably 
known  to  the  churches  of  this  country,  and  this  work  will  detract 
nothing  from  hia  reputation. 


Books  Published  and  for  Sale  by  M.  W.  Dodd. 

With  portions  of  it  I  have  been  exceedingly  interested,  as  throwing 
together  very  important  thoughts  upon  the  most  important  topics  of 
religious  instruction,  well  arranged  and  favorably  expressed.  The 
work  evidently  cost  the  author  time,  effort,  and  prayer  ;  and  it  is  well 
•worth  the  labor  and  solicitude  it  cost.  Whoever  reads  it  will  be  abun- 
dantly compensated,  and  if  he  reads  it  with  the  spirit  with  which  it 
was  written,  cannot  fail  to  become  a  more  enlightened  and  useful 
Christian.  The  object  and  aim  of  the  writer  is  not  a  selfish  one,  but  it 
is  to  do  good.  He  takes  a  wide  range,  and  yet  having  read  the  work 
the  attentive  reader  will  find  that  the  substance  of  it  is  easily  remem- 
bered. If  our  churches  and  pur  ministers  would  possess  themselves 
of  its  principles  and  imbibe  its  spirit,  they  would  have  less  cause  to 
lament  the  decay  of  vital  godliness,  either  in  their  own  hearts,  their 
families,  or  their  congregations. 

"The  publisher  deserves  commendation  and  encouragement  for  the 
attractive  form  in  which  he  presents  this  volume  to  the  public,  and  I 
take  great  pleasure  in  recommending  it  to  all  who  purchase  books  for 
the  sake  of  reading  them." 

PRAYERS   FOR  THE  USE  OF  FAMILIES;   OR  THE 
DOMESTIC  MINISTER'S  ASSISTANT. 

By  William  Jay,  author  of  Sermons,  Discourses,  &c.,  &c. 
From  the  last  London  Edition.  With  an  Appendix,  con- 
taining a  number  of  select  and  original  Prayers  for  partic- 
ular occasions.  1  vol.  12mo. 

"  This  volume  has  been  long  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  best  collec- 
tions of  devotional  exercises  for  the  domestic  circle,  that  has  been 
published,  and  by  a  large  class  of  Christians  we  doubt  not  that  it  in 
considered  invaluable.  The  present  edition  will  be  still  more  desirable 
to  American  Christians,  who  will  not  fail  to  thank  the  publisher  for 
the  fine  form  in  which  he  has  presented  it."—  Courier  if  New  York 
Enquirer. 


A  GOLDEN  TREASURY  FOR  —  ~  ^"ilHREN  OF  GOD. 

Consisting  of  Select  Texts  of  the  Bible,  with  Practical  Obser- 
vations, in  Prose  and  Verse,  for  every  day  in  the  year.  By 
C.  H.  V.  Bogatzky.  A  new  edition,  carefully  revised  and 
corrected.  1  vol.  I6mo. 

"This  is  a  reprint  of  a  work  written  by  a  Polish  Clergyman  more 
than  a  century  ago.  We  have  seldom  met  with  a  work  more  admir- 
ably suited  to  the  religious  wants  of  families  than  the  work  before  us. 
There  is  a  lesson  for  every  day  in  the  year  ;  a  portion  of  Scripture  ia 
taken  and  such  reflections  are  given  as  the  text  suggests.  Those  fam- 
ilies who  are  in  the  laudable  habit  of  calling  their  household  together 
in  the  morning  cannot  do  better  than  procure  this  work.  The  por- 
tion assigned  for  each  morning  lesson  is  short,  but  full  of  the  true 
spirit  of  Christianity,  and  could  not  faij  to  have  a  salutary  influence 
upon  the  thoughts  and  actions  of  the  day.  It  is  got  up  in  the  style  of 
alegance  for  which  the  publisher,  M.  W.  Dodd,  is  so  well  known." 


Books  Published  and  for  Sale  "by  M.   W.  Dodd. 

THE  BOOK  THAT  WILL  SUIT  YOU; 

Or  a  Word  for  Every  One.     By  Rev.  James  Smith,  Author  of 
"  Believer's  Daily  Remembrancer,"  &c. 

"  An  elegant  little  hand  book  of  some  300  pages  16mo.,  and  by  an  En 
glish  author.  Its  contents  are  a  rare  selection  of  topics,  treated  briefly 
o  suit  the  circumstances  of  those  who  have  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes 
jo  spend  in  reading,  which  it  would  be  wicked  to  throw  away,  and  yet 
Jiscouraging  to  commence  a  heavier  volume.  '  The  Successful  Mo- 
iner,'  'The  Child's  Guide,'  'The  Husband's  example,1  'The  Wife'i 
Rule,' — these  are  some  of  the  topics  taken  promiscuously  from  the 
book  ;  and  they  show  the  author's  mind  to  be  travelling  in  the  right  di- 
rection, viz. :  towards  the  theory  of  life's  daily  practice.  We  hope 
that  the  time  is  near  when  Christian  parlors  will  be  emptied  of  'The 
Book  of  Fashion,'  '  Somebody's  Lady's  Book,'  etc.,  etc.,  made  up  of 
love  stories  mawkishly  told,  and  other  drivelling  nonsense ;  and  their 
places  supplied  with  works  like  the  '  Book  that  will  Suit  you' — no  less 
pleasing,  and  far  more  useful." 

GRACE  ABOUNDING  TO  THE  CHIEF  OF  SINNERS, 

In  a  faithful  account  of  the  Life  and  death  of  John  Bunyan, 
pp.  176. 

"  We  are  pleased  to  see  a  very  handsome  edition  of  this  admirable 
treatise.  It  is  just  published,  and  will  be  eagerly  sought  after  by  all 
who  anmire  the  spirit  and  genius  of  this  remarkable  man  whose  '  Pil- 
grims Progress'  stands  nearly  if  not  quite  at  the  head  of  religious  lite- 
rature." 

KIND  WORDS  FOR  THE  KITCHEN; 

Or  Illustrations  of  Humble  Life.     By  Mrs.  Copley. 

"This  admirable  little  volume  is  the  production  of  Mrs.  Esther 
Copley,  (late  Mrs.  Hewlett,)  whose  popularity  as  an  authoress  has  long 
been  established  upon  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  The  welfare  of  that 
interesting  and  important  part  of  society  who  discharge  the  domestic 
duties  of  life  has  long  engaged  the  attention  of  this  distinguished  and 
accomplished  lady. 

"  We  have  read  the  '  Kind  Words  for  the  Kitchen,'  with  a  firm  con- 
viction tint  it  is  the  best  work  we  have  ever  seen  in  so  small  a  com- 
pass for  its  designed  purpose  ;  it  suggests  all  that  a  sense  of  duty  would 
lead  the  head  of  a  well  regulated  household  to  advise,  and  having 
loaned  the  book  to  ladies  distinguished  for  their  judgment  and  skill  as 
heads  of  well-governed  families,  they  have  urged  its  publication  with 
a  few  omissions  of  matter  deemed  inappropriate  to  our  country. 

"  We  believe  almost  every  Christian  lady  will  be  glad  to  place  such  a 
manual  of  sound  instruction  in  the  hands  of  her  domestics,  and  that 
which  is  kindly  bestowed  will  generally  be  gratefully  received.  With 
an  assurance  that  the  general  diffusion  of  this  book  would  accomplish 
a  most  valuable  service  in  binding  together  more  closely  the  interests 
of  the  employer  and  the  employed,  and  softening  down  the  asperities 
which  so  frequently  grow  out  of  the  ill  performed  duties  of  the  house- 
hold sphere,  we  should  rejoice  to  know  that  this  little  volume  was 
placed  by  the  side  of  the  Bible  in  every  kitchen  of  our  country.' 


Published  and  for  Sale  by  M.    W.  Dodd. 

SERMONS,  NOT  BEFORE  PUBLISHED,  ON  VARIOUS 

PRACTICAL  SUBJECTS. 
By  the  late  Edward  Dorr  Griffin,  D.  D. 

"  Dr.  Griffin  may  be  regarded  as  having  been  a  prince  among  tho 
princes  of  the  American  pulpit.  He  left  a  large  number  of  sermons 
Carefully  revised  and  ready  for  publication,  part  of  which  were  pub- 
lished shortly  after  his  death,  but  the  greater  portion  of  which  consti- 
tute the  present  volume.  They  are  doubtless  among  the  ablest  dis- 
courses of  the  present  day,  and  are  alike  fitted  to  disturb  the  delusions 
of  guilt,  to  quicken  and  strengthen,  and  comfort  the  Christian,  and  to 
serve  as  a  model  to  the  theological  student,  who  would  construct  his 
discourses,  in  a  way  to  render  them  at  once  the  most  impressive,  and 
the  most  edifying." 

A  MEMOIR  OF  THE  REV.  LEQH  RICHMOND,  A.M. 

Rector  of  Turvey,  Bedfordshire.  By  Rev.  T.  S.  Grimshaw, 
A.  M,,  Rector  of  Burton-Latimer,  &c.  Seventh  American 
from  the  last  London  Edition,  with  a  handsome  Portrait  on 
Steel. 

*'  We  have  here  a  beautiful  reprint  of  one  of  the  best  books  of  its 
Class,  to  be  found  in  our  language.  Such  beauty  and  symmetry  of  cha- 
racter, such  manly  intelligence  and  child -like  simplicity,  such  official 
dignity  and  condescending  meekness,  such  warmth  of  zeal  united  with 
a  perception  of  fitness  which  always  discerns  the  right  thing  to  be 
done,  and  an  almost  faultless  prudence  in  doing  it, — are  seldom  found 
combined  in  the  same  person.  It  is  a  book  for  a  minister,  and  a  book 
for  parishioners ;  a  book  for  the  lovers  of  nature,  and  a  book  for  the 
friends  of  God  and  of  his  species.  Never  perhaps  were  the  spirits  and 
duties  of  a  Christian  Pastor  more  happily  exemplified.  Never  did 
warmer  or  purer  domestic  affections  throb  in  a  human  bosom,  or  exer- 
cise themselves  more  unceasingly  and  successfully  for  the  comfort,  the 
present  well-being  and  final  salvation  of  sons  and  daughters.  From  no 
heart  probably,  did  ever  good  will  flow  out  to  men,  in  a  fuller,  warmer 
current.  In  a  word,  be  was  the  author  of  the  'Dairyman's  Daughter,' 
and  the  '  Young  Cottager.' 

"  The  engraved  likeness  of  Mr.  Richmond  alone  is  worth  the  cost  of 
the  work  :  as  illustrative  of  the  uncommon  benignity  that  adorned  and 
endeared  the  man  to  his  friends  and  the  world." 

UNCLE  BARNABY? 

Or  Recollections  of  his  Character  and  Opinions,  pp.  316. 

"  The  religion  of  this  book  is  good — the  morality  excellent,  and  the 
mode  of  exhibiting  their  important  lessons  can  hardly  be  surpassed  in 
anything  calculated  to  make  them  attractive  to  the  young,  or  successful 
in  correcting  anything  bad  in  their  habits  or  morals.  There  are  some 
twenty  chapters  on  as  many  common  sayings  and  maxims,  occurrences 
and  incidents — in  this  respect  bearing  a  resemblance  to  '  the  Prompter, 
a  somewhat  oracular  book  forty  or  fifty  years  ago.  It  is  an  excellent 
book  to  keep  in  a  family,  and  may  be  alike  beneficial  to  parents  and 
children." 


Books  Published  and  for  Sale  by  M.  W.  Dodd. 
PSYCHOLOGY; 

Or  a  View  of  the  Human  Soul ;  including  Anthropology. 
Adapted  for  the  use  of  Colleges  and  Schools.  By  Rev.  F.  A, 
Rauch,  D.  P.,  late  President  of  Marshall  College,  Pa.  Second 
edition,  revised  and  improved.  1  vol.  8vo. 

"We  have  devoted  more  time  to  the  examination  of  this  work  than 
jve  can  usually  devote  to  the  books  submitted  to  our  consideration  for 
A  passing  notice,  and  in  our  opinion  it  is  a  work  of  great  value. 

"His  first  great  object  in  these  lectures  is  to  teach  man  to  know 
himself.  The  second,  is  to  give  the  science  of  man  a  direct  bearing 
upon  other  sciences,  and  especially  upon  religion  and  theology.  The 
execution  of  the  work  renders  it  admirably  adapted  to  popular  use, 
and  it  should  be  studied  by  all.  The  clergyman  should  study  it.  The 
lawyer  would  derive  great  advantage  from  it.  The  physician  cannot 
be  master  of  his  profession  without  it."— N.  Y.  Com.  Adv. 

A  RESIDENCE  OF  EIGHT  YEARS  IN   PERSIA, 

Among  the  Nestorian  Christians.  With  Notices  of  the  Mu- 
harnmedans.  By  Rev.  Justin  Perkins.  With  Maps  and 
twenty-seven  beautiful  colored  plates.  1  vol.  8vo. 

"The  attention  of  the  Christian  public  has  been  called  of  late  years 
with  great  interest  to  the  Nestorians  of  Persia,  and  the  recent  visit  to 
this  country  by  Rev.  Justin  Perkins  and  Bishop  Mar  Yohanan,  has 
awakened  still  greater  anxiety  to  know  more  of  this  people,  'the 
venerable  remnant  of  a  once  great  and  influential  Christian  Church.1 
The  theory  of  Dr.  Grant,  that  this  people  are  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel, 
has  attracted  considerable  attention,  though  since  the  examination  of 
that  theory  by  Dr.  Robinson,  we  do  not  think  it  has  very  generally 
been  embraced.  These  are  obvious  reasons  to  account  for  the  anxiety 
with  which  the  work  of  Mr.  Perkins  has  been  looked  for  since  his  in- 
tention to  prepare  a  work  on  Persia  was  announced,  and  we  are  quite 
confident  that  the  public  expectation  will  be  more  than  answered  by 
the  graphic  interest,  the  valuable  information,  and  unique  embellish- 
ments of  the  volume  just  issued.  .  .  .  Mr.  Perkins  has  made  a  valuable 
contribution  to  the  literature  and  science  of  our  country,  as  well  as  to 
missionary  annals.  This  handsome  volume  should  adorn  the  library 
of  every  literary  institution,  and  of  every  man  of  intelligence,  and  we 
trust  it  will  thus  be  widely  circulated."—^.  Y.  Observer 

HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN   BOARD  OF   COMMIS- 
SIONERS FOR   FOREIGN   MISSIONS. 

Compiled  chiefly  from  the  Published  and  Unpublished  Docu- 
ments of  the  Board.  By  Joseph  Tracy.  Second  edition, 
carefully  revised  and  enlarged.  1  vol.  8vo. 

"  Mr.  Tracy  has  performed  his  work  well,  and  it  is  one  that  should 
be  found  in  the  library  of  every  intelligent  citizen.  It  is  interesting 
in  matter  and  subjects,  and  invaluable  for  a  reference.  The  volume 
is  handsomely  printed,  and  illustrated  with  numerous  plates,  some  of 
were  drawn  and  engraved  and  printed  by  natives  at  Missionary 

(5) 


Books  Published  and  for  Sale  by  M.  W.  Dodd. 

•tations.  The  whole  comprises  a  neat  octavo  volume  of  450  pages. 
The  research,  and  clear  and  concise  style  of  the  work,  entitle  it  to 
g^eat  commendation."— Boston  Traveler. 

PUNISHMENT  BY  DEATH;  ITS  AUTHORITY  AND 
EXPEDIENCY. 

By  George  B.  Cheever.     Second  edition,  with  an  Introduction 
by  Hon.  Theodore  Frelinghuysen. 

"Aluminous  and  forcible  exhibition  of  the  Scriptural  authority  as 
well  as  the  grounds  of  expediency  on  which  the  advocates  of  the  ex- 
isting laws  rest  their  defence.  We  commend  the  book  to  the  perusal 
of  those  whose  minds  are  unsettled  on  this  subject,  believing  that 
the  author  has  gone  thoroughly  into  the  investigation  of  the  argu- 
ments of  those  opposed  to  Capital  Punishments,  and  has  faithfully  at- 
tempted to  demonstrate  both  the  inexpediency  of  the  change,  and  its 
direct  contravention  of  the  teachings  of  Divine  Truth."— New  York 
Observer. 

TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS;  OR  FAITH  REWARDED. 

By  the  Author  of  "  Emma,  or  the  Lost  Found,"  "  The  Adopt- 
ed Child,"  &c.     1  vol.  I8mo. 

"  This  interesting  little  narrative  combines  entertainment  with  in- 
struction of  the  choicest  kind.  It  depicts,  on  the  one  hand,  the  meek- 
ness and  humility  with  which  the  faithful  follower  of  the  Redeemer, 
reposing  unwavering  confidence  in  his  abiding  love  and  mercy,  en- 
dures  the  chastening  dispensations  of  an  All-wise  Provi  lence ;  and,  on 
the  other,  the  thankfulness  and  gratitude  with  which  he  receives  un- 
expected benefits  and  mercies.  It  is  an  excellent  book  for  the  young, 
and  from  its  perusal  they  cannot  fail  to  derive  both  pleasure  and  profit.1' 
— N.  y.  Journal  of  Commerce. 

MEMOIR  OF  MRS.  ANNA  MARIA  MORRISON, 
Of  the  North  India  Mission.    By  Rev.  E.  J.  Richards.     1  voL 
18mo. 

"  Mrs.  Morrison  was  the  wife  of  one  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission- 
aries in  Hindostan,  who  was  removed  from  the  Church  militant  prior 
to  their  arrival  at  their  appointed  station.  It  is  an  instructive  deline- 
ation of  a  superior  and  exemplary  Christian  female,  just  fitted  to  edify 
young  women,  by  displaying  the  excellency  of  the  Christian  religion, 
and  should  be  placed  in  the  Sunday  School  Library  for  the  special 
benefit  of  the  female  department.— Christian  Intelligencer 

A  MOTHER'S  TRIBUTE  TO  A  BELOVED  DAUGHTER, 

Or  Memoir  of  Malvina  Forman  Smith.    1  vol.  I8mo. 

"  The  portrait  of  this  much  loved  girl  is  drawn  in  a  series  of  letter! 
from  different  members  of  the  family,  which  are  generally  well  writ- 
ten, and  develop  traits  of  intelligence,  of  affection,  and  of  goodness, 
"worthy  of  imitation  by  those  of  her  sex  who  shall  have  the  good  ff>9* 
tuie  to  peruse  her  brief  hiitory."— Bofton  Traveler. 


Books  Published  and  for  Sale  by  M.  W.  Dodd. 
THINKS  i  TO  MYSELF; 

A  Serio-Ludicro-Tragico-Comico  Tale.  Written  by  Thinks  I 
To  Myself  Who  1  1  vol.  I2mo. 

ELIZABETH  THORNTON, 

Or  the  Flower  and  Fruit  of  Female  Piety,  &c.     1  vol.  18mo. 

"  This  is  the  sketch  of  a  young  female  possessing  no  common  ex- 
cellence of  character  ;  although  called  away  from  her  labors  of  Chris- 
tian love  when  she  scarcely  numbered  a  score  of  years,  she  was  truly 
ripe  for  heaven.  She  lived  and  acted  while  life  was  hers  for  the  great 
end  of  being  ;  and  no  one  of  her  sex  could  read  this  development  of 
an  exalted  character  without  the  desire  to  imitate  such  an  example. 
It  is  just  such  a  book  we  can  most  heartily  recommend  for  the  Family 
and  Sunday  School  Library." — N.  Y.  Com.  Advertiser. 

JANE  BRUSH,  AND  HER  COW. 

"  It  is  a  beautiful  story,  and  none  the  less  so  we  dare  say,  for  the 
dovetailing  of  the  translator's  charming  imagination  into  the  text — for 
ehe  tells  us  that  she  has  added  to  the  original— though  it  is  so  very  in- 
geniously done  that  it  is  quite  impossible  for  us  at  least  to  discover  the 
•spots  in  the  wainscot.'  The  little  volume  furnishes  one  of  the  few 
Instances  in  which  a  work  professing  to  be  written  for  children,  has 
been  successful.  It  is  not  written  down  to  their  feelings  and  compre- 
hensions but  exactly  upon  a  level  with  them.  Its  language,  and  the  inci- 
dents of  the  tale  are  precisely  what  they  should  be  to  make  an  im- 
pression and  do  good.  There  is  no  baby  talk  about  it,  and  yet,  every 
thing  is  so  said  as  to  adapt  itself  at  once  to  the  capacity  of  the  young 
mind  at  the  earliest  stage  of  its  understanding.  No  better  child's  book 
has  ever  been  written,  and  we,  at  any  rate,  have  found  it  very  delight- 
ful reading/«r  children  of  some  age." — Courier  #•  Enquirer 

MORAL  TALES  FOR  CHILDREN. 

By  Uncle  Arthur.  Illustrated  by  seven  engravings.  1  vol. 
32mo. 

"  Uncle  Arthur,  the  avowed  narrator  of  these  stories,  must  be  a  new 
relation  of  Peter  Parley  and  Robert  Merry,  he  has  so  happy  a  faculty 
of  arresting  the  attention  and  winning  the  regard  of  the  young.  Hia 
stories  are  simple  and  natural ;  having  a  direct  religious  tendency, 
and  cannot  fail  to  exert  a  salutary  influence  upon  the  juvenile  mind." 
--Boston  Merc.  Journal. 

THE  TRAVELER, 

Or  Wonders  of  Nature  and  Art.    2  vols.  18mo. 

MEMOIR  OF  MRS.  ELIZABETH   B.  DWIGHT; 

Including  an  account  of  the  Plague  in  1837.  By  Rev.  H.  G. 
O.  Dwight,  Missionary  to  Constantinople.  With  a  Sketch 
of  the  Life  of  Mrs.  Judith  8.  Grant,  Missionary  to  Persia. 


Books  Published  and  for  Sale  by  M.  W.  Dodd. 

THE  CHILD'S  BOOK  OF  DEVOTION. 

By  Rev.  John  A.  Murray. 

LOFTY  AND  LOWLY  WAY. 

By  Mrs.  Sherwood. 

THE  DROOPING   LILY. 

By  Mrs.  Sherwood. 

THE  STORY  OF  GRACE, 

The  Little  Sufferer  who  died  in  New  York,  April  15,  1837. 
Sold  for  the  benefit  of  her  family. 

M.  W.  Dodd  is  agent  for  the  sale  of 

THE  MASSACHUSETTS  SABBATH  SCHOOL  SOCIETY'S 
PUBLICATIONS, 

Which  are  always  on  hand  hi  quantities,with  a  large  supply 
of  ether  works  sultabl*  for  Sabbath  School  Libraries. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 


LOAN  DEPT. 


This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


. 

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REC.CIR.OCT  Z5  '78 

General  Library 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


